June 30, 2011

Wasserman-Rubin and her husband's sentence -- the video

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 30, 2011 06:10 PM

My colleague Paula McMahon reported about the sentencing by federal Judge William Zloch of Richard Rubin, husband of former Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin. Above is video from the courthouse, after the sentencing.

He will serve 10 months in jail, and she is charged with public corruption crimes that are still hanging over her.

$610,000 public art for Broward courthouse - do you like it? The video

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 30, 2011 04:02 PM

Despite all the controversy lately about public art, Broward County commissioners sent through on Tuesday this $610,000 public art project called "Flow.''

I happened to run into the artist, Margi Nothard-Glavovic, at County Hall that day carrying this model of her art project, which will be built at the coming new Broward County Courthouse downtown in Fort Lauderdale.

Voting against spending the money were Commissioners Barbara Sharief, Chip LaMarca (who said he voted that way because the courthouse project is too expensive), and John Rodstrom. Together they form a sort of conservative-spending alliance, if you watch their votes and arguments on the dais. Noteworthy: LaMarca is a Republican, Sharief is a Dem but was a Republican at one time in her past, and Rodstrom is a ... Democrat ... but also was a Republican in the past.

I'll tell you more about the public art projects, but in this video you'll see the plan for this one, for the courthouse. She cites a figure lower than $610,000 in the video -- the $610,000 is the total cost for her art project, which was approved by commissioners Tuesday.

North Lauderdale officials afraid to vote without state ethics permission

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 30, 2011 12:16 PM

Lisa J. Huriash reports:

The city wants an official opinion on whether two commissioners can vote on garbage deals even though their children work for companies that are vying for the contract.

North Lauderdale city attorney Sam Goren sent a letter on Wednesday to the Florida Commission on Ethics asking if Commissioner David Hilton and Mayor Jack Brady have a conflict of interest.

Brady's son is a garbage collector for Allied Waste Industries in North Carolina, which is part of Republic Services. Hilton's son is a garbage collector for Waste Pro of Florida. Both men are hourly employees and not stakeholders, Goren noted in his letter.

Republic Services and Waste Pro are bidding for the city's contract. The third bidder is Public Waste Services.

The city has a contract with Republic Services, also known as All Service Refuse Company.

The commission was originally scheduled to hear presentations from all three companies Tuesday night and make a decision.

"The mayor's and Commissioner Hilton's sons are just one of hundreds, if not thousands, of employees at their respective companies," Goren wrote. Any possible gain to them from the city contract would be "remote and speculative."

"To the best of our knowledge, it is currently unknown whether the sons of the mayor and Commissioner Hilton will receive any benefit at all," he wrote.

Lobbyist watch: Superlobbyist Ron Book in action -- the video

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 30, 2011 11:16 AM

Broward superlobbyist Ron Book was in action Tuesday in front of the Broward County Commission, the same group of nine who hire him each year to work for them in Tallahassee.

Above is a slice of video of Book when he's doing the equivalent of a closing argument. Mayor Sue Gunzburger had called him up to speak earlier in the lineup, but Book asked to be called last, and the mayor said OK.

Book's client, which had received top ranking, prevailed Tuesday in a unanimous vote. This was a fight over which of two firms would get top ranking for a gigantic job managing construction of the coming six-story, sloped new runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Former Congressman Ron Klein says Jewish voters will stick with Obama

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 30, 2011 10:09 AM

The longstanding support of Jews for the Democratic Party is under stress, but in a short opinion piece on the political website Politico, former U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, said Jewish voters will stick with President Barack Obama.

In his Politico piece, Klein wrote:

President Obama’s positions are not different substantively then President Bush or President Clinton. While I think that the way the president presents these consistent principles could be more artfully communicated, he is trying to move a process along that is stuck. However, let’s not confuse the policy with the politics. Those of us who support Israel with every fiber of our being are seeing a blatant political misinformation campaign which exaggerates or blatantly misstates the president’s position for the sake of winning the next election.

Klein, who has long been active in the Jewish community, is a former Florida Senate minority leader and represented Broward and Palm Beach counties in Congress from 2007 until 2011.

June 29, 2011

Photo: LaMarca and the governor

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 29, 2011 04:00 PM

Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca was out in North Lauderdale on Monday standing hand in hand with this man, your governor, Rick Scott.

Scott was in town signing an education bill. The county then kindly sent out this photograph. Enjoy.

NOTE: LaMarca's brief absence Tuesday from the County Commission meeting was not because of a run to meet the governor. LaMarca said he had to leave the meeting at 6:15 p.m. for the first time since being elected in 2010, and he phoned in later.

Judge Zloch gives Broward's Richard Rubin 10 months in jail

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 29, 2011 12:46 PM

My colleague Paula McMahon has this breaking news from the federal courthouse: Richard Rubin, husband of former Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin, was sentenced to 10 months in jail for income tax evasion.

Prosecutors argued that other family members and friends could care for [Wasserman-Rubin] or the couple could use the life insurance money to temporarily place her in an assisted living facility for the "relatively short period" of prison time recommended.

Someone loves Broward's Waste Management guys enough to hug them

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 29, 2011 08:00 AM

This email dropped into the in-box of Broward County Commissioner Lois Wexler.

A customer praised a couple of friendly Waste Management employees for being so nice to her son, and for giving him a toy trash truck. Consider this your dose of feel-good news for the day.

Hello Commissioner Wexler,

We have lived in Flamingo Gardens East in Cooper City for about 4 years. I've attached a couple of photos of my 3 year old with the Waste Service guys last Saturday morning. I just felt compelled to give these guys accolades. Most Saturday mornings, since about 18 months old, Freddie stands outside waiting on the big recycling and garbage trucks to pass by…the guys are always so nice - they give big smiles and waves and the occasional honk. It's something that they don’t have to do but no matter what kind of day they are having they stop in front of our house to be sure to wave to Freddie.

Last week Clive (pronounced Cleeve) and Ruben stopped and introduced themselves - Freddie gave them big hugs and they had a special gift for him, his very own garbage truck! You should have seen his face.

Clive and Ruben are certainly deserving of a special letter or award.
Thanks,
Sandi Rogacki

“Parents looking in their child’s backpack would not know,’’ Jacobs said Tuesday, imploring her colleagues to vote this fall on a proposed law addressing the problem. They agreed.

Under the current labryinth of state and federal laws on drug paraphernalia and smoking devices, some smoke shops are free to sell bongs to children.

The law being fashioned by Jacobs, with input from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, would allow the county to fine merchants who sell a smoking device to anyone younger than 18 not accompanied by a parent. The first offense would cost $250, the second $500.

Feds: Broward's Richard Rubin lied to judge, IRS

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 28, 2011 03:33 PM

My colleague, Paula McMahon, just released this story about Broward County's Richard Rubin, husband of former Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin. (Seen above on the right, with his lawyer.) The feds said Rubin lied and deserves 10 months behind bars.

Pompano condo: OK, we'll stop excluding young kids

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 28, 2011 09:35 AM

A Pompano Beach condo that continued to exclude families with young children long after federal and county law prohibited it agreed during Broward County's civil rights investigation to stop enforcing its bylaw about that.

That's today's update from a county document I received this morning. The document lays out both sides of the case of a Canadian dad versus Admiralty Towers condo on the ocean in Pompano that I wrote about yesterday.

Broward County commissioners vote later today to sue the condo, by virtue of the county's agreement with the feds to handle allegations of federal housing law violations.Click on this link to read the document that lays out both sides.

The condo is accused of rejecting a Canadian vacationer's purchase contract to buy a unit last fall because the man and his wife have three daughters under the age of 12, and Admiralty's bylaws excluded kids under 12. That bylaw can no longer be legally enforced because federal law from the late 1980s protects people from housing discrimination based on familial status, assistant Broward County attorney Adam Katzman says.

Read more on the jump page.

Katzman, who is handling the case for the county's Civil Rights Division, said this about the laws:

Federal and local law prohibit housing decisions based on familial status. The refusal to sell or rent to an individual because they are married, single, or have children, etc. is a violation of federal and local housing discrimination laws.

Admiralty told the county during its investigation that it was also enforcing a bylaw that said a two-bedrom could not be "permanently occupied'' by more than four people. But the snowbird only wanted the place for vacations, the county argues in the document released this morning.

Broward's Keechl and partner Ted Adcock: We're marrying in New York!

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 27, 2011 03:08 PM

Broward County former politician Ken Keechl and his partner, Ted Adcock, will be married later this year, they said – one of the first gay couples in Broward to announce they’ll wed under New York’s legalization of same-sex marriage.

Keechl, a former county commissioner (shown in this photo shot by Art Seitz), announced late Friday on Facebook to 2,643 of his closest friends that “Ted and I are going to New York to get married. I am a very blessed man!’’

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law late Friday. Five states legalized same-sex marriages previously. Florida is not one of them.

After the vote, Keechl commented on Facebook: “I love New York!”

“Love you!’’ Adcock told Keechl.

Adcock told his 886 friends that the two likely would get married in October or November.
Adcock is a Realtor; Keechl is an attorney and partner at Kopelowitz Ostrow law firm, where he is head of government relations.

Their news was wildly popular, at least with Keechl’s relatively small audience. More than 80 of them “liked” his announcement, and more than 50 commented on it, mostly offering congratulations.

Broward Mayor Sue Gunzburger was among them, calling it a “wonderful plan.’’ Her son, Ron, legally married his partner in 2006 in Toronto.

The new law could provide New York a tourism surge, but mostly from people who already live there inviting friends and family to the weddings they’ve waited years to hold, senior projects manager David Paisley at Community Marketing Inc. said.

The San Francisco firm tracks gay tourism, and Paisley said other states that passed similar laws saw a “small uptick’’ in tourism. More powerful, he said, is the “great p.r.’’ passage of a law like that provides.

“It really clearly reinforces to the world that New York is really an extremely gay friendly place,’’ he said.

Not that New York needs it. It’s already No. in the work as a gay tourist destination, said Paisley.

Broward County poised to sue condo on behalf of Canadian snowbird with kids

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 27, 2011 12:20 PM

Broward County will sue a condo in Pompano Beach because it allegedly refused to allow a Canadian snowbird to buy a place there based on his household having three kids in it.

The condo in question, Admiralty Towers Condominium, is not a 55-and-over restricted address, according to Broward County's statement charging the condo with violating housing law. The condo's bylaws said kids couldn't live there, but the county says federal law protects people from being discriminated against based on family status.

According to Broward County and its Civil Rights Division: "The Division investigated the complaint and found reasonable cause that Admiralty discriminated against the complainants based on familial status.''

County commissioners will vote Tuesday to sue, but the county's attorneys have said in the latest cases that commissioners have no choice but to say yes. That's because the federal government pays Broward County to handle cases normally handled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

It doesn't matter if the man seeking to buy this oceanfront condo for a vacation place is rich or poor, either. Commissioner Ilene Lieberman asked in one of the previous cases whether the county checks to see if the alleged victim has the financial means to sue without Broward's help. She was told there is no "means test,'' and whether the person is rich or poor, the (federal) taxpayers take up the case.

Red-light cameras partly to blame for Fort Lauderdale's budget woes

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 27, 2011 10:25 AM

FORT LAUDERDALE Put part of the blame on those red-light cameras and overly optimistic estimates about how the city would cash in on the tickets.

City Hall will have to dig deeper into its cash reserves than expected to get through the rest of this year and will have to do so again next year. Officials are projecting a $30 million budget shortfall for 2012. The reasons include declining property tax collections, less money from red-light tickets and higher fuel costs.

Still, the city is far from being in the plight faced by Hollywood, Lauderdale Lakes and some other South Florida communities. It started this budget year with $69.6 million in reserves that it could tap into.

Lauderdale Lakes is struggling to survive. It's in a state of financial emergency and unable to pay bills for law enforcement protection. Hollywood recently backed away from laying off police officers and instead imposed a pay cut on the entire force.

"We are going to have to have real discussions about the core services of the community this year, but we are not anywhere close to being in the situation that those communities are in," said Lee Feldman, who recently started as Fort Lauderdale city manager.

Feldman anticipates that the city will spend between $16 million and $20 million from its cash reserves this year. The city projected spending $11 million when commissioners approved their $611 million budget last September.

Officials agreed then to tap reserves rather than raise tax rates or make major cuts in public services.

When he interviewed for the city manager post this spring, Feldman said Fort Lauderdale has an extremely large cash reserve but that he generally disliked using reserves to balance budgets. He said his proposed spending plan for next year will include savings from streamlining government as well using reserves.

Feldman said he doesn't know yet how much more of the reserves he will propose using. But, he said he would ensure enough cash remains on hand to meet city financial policies.

The current reserves represent two to three times more than what what's required and is above the national standard for local governments.

Red-light cameras are part of the budget woes for both this year and next year.

The city expected more than $3 million in ticket revenue – nailing almost 250 people a day for running red lights. But courts have repeatedly thrown out cases, and the costs incurred by the Police Department to prepare tickets has soared.

Budget-writers suggest Fort Lauderdale shouldn't expect any income from tickets in 2012. Police Chief Frank Adderley said his agency is still reviewing whether it is worthwhile to keep the cameras in place.

The city also will spend almost $1 million more than planned this year for fuel because of higher gas prices. Part of the $30 million shortfall projected next year is to boost the amount set aside for gas by that amount.

About $4.5 million of the shortfall is the result of declining property values. Data released last month from the county Property Appraiser's Office show the city's tax roll fell 3.5 percent this year, from $24.4 billion to $23.6 billion.

The city is also expected to bring in $4.2 million less in utility fees because the state rejected electric rate increases for Florida Power & Light last year. Communication taxes are expected to fall $1.1 million, largely because of the growing number of people who don't have a home telephone and only use a cell phone.

Feldman plans to give city commissioners a tentative budget for 2012 next week as required, but he said he will provide a second, more extensive version in late July or early August. On the job just two weeks, Feldman said he needs the extra time to lay out the reform to city government that he wants.

Budget-watchers are not surprised the city will likely use cash reserves again, but are hopeful Feldman will make changes they've sought in consolidating agencies and reducing bureaucracy at City Hall.

"There has got to be a point at which we recognize we need a balanced budget without looking at the use of reserves," said Alan Silva, a member of the city budget advisory board.

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 25, 2011 02:34 PM

The city’s Housing Authority is replacing the cramped, antiquated concrete apartments along Broward Boulevard with 132 modern ones in buildings up to five stories tall. A state appeals court last month dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trust for Historic Sailboat Bend and cleared the way for construction.

The Kennedy Homes was one of the last public housing projects built before World War II and was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Three of the current 45 existing buildings would be preserved to mark its history.

The cottages were built in 1941 for the city's poor white residents during segregation and named after Dr. Thomas Kennedy who helped fight a yellow fever outbreak as the city's first doctor.

The new apartments represent a joint project between the housing authority and Miami-based Carlisle Development Group using $21 million in federal tax credits. It’s part of an ambitious plan by the housing authority to rebuild hundreds of public housing apartments.

Residents moved out last summer. Construction should take 12 to 15 months.

Governor appoints Sayfie to judicial nominating board

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 25, 2011 01:44 PM

Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Fort Lauderdale attorney Justin Sayfie to the board that chooses judicial candidates for the state appellate court based in Miami.

Sayfie is a shareholder in the Blosser & Sayfie law firm. He will serve on the nominating commission until July 2015.

Before helping found Blosser & Sayfie, Sayfie worked as a senior policy advisor and spokesman for Gov. Jeb Bush from 1999 to 2001. Bush appointed Sayfie to a judicial nominating commission in 2001, and Sayfie later was served four years on a federal judicial nominating commission.

Sayfie publishes an internet website SayfieReview.com and SayfieNews.com, which cover Florida and national political news. He received his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from the University of Miami.

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 25, 2011 01:36 PM

FORT LAUDERDALE Boating advocates want the city to spend as much as $16 million on a major expansion of the city’s Las Olas Marina, with extra space for mega-yachts.

But the idea could conflict with current beach redevelopment plans.

The proposal calls for excavating one of the city’s main beach parking lots to accommodate as many as 91 additional boat slips along the Intracoastal Waterway. Current city plans for a beach makeover, though, envision turning that lot into a waterfront park and promenade with an adjacent parking garage.

Leaders of the marine industry pitched the new idea to city commissioners last week and argue that it may be possible to pursue both ideas. They say an expanded marina would draw more boating business and add to an upscale allure of the beach.

“We have to build for the future and ensure Fort Lauderdale continues to be the first choice in the global yachting market,” said Frank Herhold, former head of the Marine Industries Association of South Florida. “It all starts with slips, so we need adequate dockage not only for the local boating community but those who visit us.”

An expansion would require removing landfill laid 50 years ago on the west side of the barrier island and moving the seawall potentially as far east as Birch Road. According to estimates drawn up for the city marine advisory board, construction could cost as much as $16 million, but a larger marina could bring an extra $3 million a year in rental revenue to the city.

The Las Olas Marina currently has space for 60 boats – it’s the largest part of city-owned marine facilities that also include docks downtown and at the Cooley’s Landing park. An expansion could include room for up to an additional 14 mega-yachts, according to proponents.

City commissioners are reacting cautiously, but have agreed to assign consultants working on the current beach redevelopment plans to investigate further.

The commissioners were concerned about how they would deal with the growing parking crunch on the beach and whether environmental protection issues from manatees to seagrass could arise. They also questioned if the construction estimates were accurate and where they would find the money to pay for the expansion.

Still, the commissioners said they understand why they may want to enlarge the marina.

The marine business is a major part of the South Florida economy, and the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show draw visitors from around the world each fall. But maritime activists worry the industry will be threatened if the real-estate boom re-starts. Builders would eye boatyards and marinas as sites for possible redevelopment just as they did a decade ago.

“We are the marine capital of the world, and we should be thinking that way,” Commissioner Romney Rogers said.

The beach redevelopment plans – minus the marina – have been rapidly advancing.

The city laid the groundwork in February for a major spending spree to improve the beach. At a cost of up to $63 million, they plan to create a bolder beach entrance, address parking problems, build parks and other amenities and help renovate the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

The city is under pressure to move quickly.

Fort Lauderdale and the county designated the beach as blighted in 1989, a decision that allowed the city to take all city and county property tax revenue paid by businesses and residents in the area and spend it on beach improvement work. The deal ends in eight years, and the $63 million must be spent.

The Intracoastal parking lot, located at Las Olas Boulevard and Birch Road, factors into the city plans.

The city has wanted to build a park and promenade there. The park is part of an effort to create more public places on the barrier island and open up vistas of the Intracoastal Waterway. The promenade is one of several planned to make the beach more attractive to pedestrians and bicyclists.

A 618-space parking garage could be added eventually, one of three proposed for the beach.

Those plans have received the blessing of both residents and business leaders on the beach. “The promenade and park have been really big deals for the public on beach,” Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom warned the marine industry.

Maritime leaders say they only recently realized the possibility. They pitched a larger marina in 2004, but the Intracoastal lot was tied up in a court battle over the ill-fated Palazzo Las Olas urban village that developers wanted to build there.

The city settled that case in March, and maritime leaders dusted off their idea. They said they had not been involved in workshops to draw up the beach plans.

Bradley Deckelbaum, a developer who leads the city’s beach improvement board, said he is willing to see if the plans can be merged.

“It shouldn’t have to be an either-or situation,” Deckelbaum said. “I’m confident there are ways to satisfy everyone’s concerns. The plans are in the early stages so this is the perfect time to incorporate other ideas and decide what works best.”

June 24, 2011

Swimming Hall of Fame development partner involved in California bankruptcy

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 24, 2011 02:24 PM

FORT LAUDERDALE The developers of the proposed rehab of the International Swimming Hall of Fame have repeatedly touted a San Diego amusement park as the basis of assurances that they will be able make money and draw large crowds.

But what hasn’t been said is that the Wave House Belmont Park in San Diego is in bankruptcy and embroiled in a bitter quarrel with that city. A court hearing set for next week could end with creditors seizing control of the entertainment complex.

A Wave House with state-of-the-art artificial surf machines is a key feature of the Hall of Fame plans, and Wave House head Tom Lochtefeld is part of the development team.

“This is obviously a reason to be careful and scrutinize every inch of the proposal to ensure it makes economic sense to the city,” Mayor Jack Seiler said.

The development team led by Recreational Design & Construction has proposed the Hall of Fame on Fort Lauderdale’s beach be rebuilt with new Olympic-size pools, a dive well, swimming museum and restaurant along with the Wave House. The group was the sole bidder when the city sought proposals more than a year ago.

The proposal has progressed slowly since.

Developers have faced a barrage of concerns about the price and design of the new Hall of Fame as well as questions about their background and chances of success. The price tag has dropped from $76 million to $66 million as it has been scaled back in scope.

Lochtefeld said Friday that the Wave House in San Diego remains a financial success and that he is walking away from his lease of the entertainment park because the city drastically increased his rent. He’s alleged in court records that the rent jumped from $70,000 to $767,000 a year.

“It’s just a landlord-tenant dispute where in this instance the landlord has upped my rent,” Lochtefeld said. “I don’t want to pay it. It’s too high, and that’s why I’m looking to move.”

Court records from San Diego show that the city declared Wave House Belmont Park LLC in default of its lease in October and that the company then filed for Chapter 11 protection in November. The actual Wave House operations at the park are owned by a separate Lochtefeld-controlled company and is a tenant of the Wave House Belmont Park operation.

A Wave House has been part of the Hall of Fame plans in Fort Lauderdale from the start.

The machinery artificially creates waves to surf in a shallow padded pool and are capable of being used by both pro and amateur surfers. At its maximum, the machines can create a curling wave as high as 10 feet.

Recreational Design executive Joe Cerrone introduced Lochtefeld to city commissioners last September and said the Wave House would be the “economic engine” of the new facility. As recently as this week, developers cited San Diego as the basis of their projection that a Wave House here could draw 450,000 paying visitors a year with each person spending an average of $26.

Lochtefeld said the numbers are accurate and that he could provide statistics of the popularity of Wave Houses elsewhere in the world such as Singapore and South Africa if the city wants further information.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Lochtefeld led a rebirth of Belmont Park in 2000. The paper said in a story published this week that the amusement park had been failing and was better known for its homeless population. It said Lochtefeld’s redevelopment made the park a “crowded epicenter of summertime fun.”

Lochtefeld said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel that officials are trying to force him to pay more in light of city financial problems.

He alleged in court filings that San Diego must continue providing rent subsidies to the operation and unfairly rejected a proposal for future redevelopment. He closed a popular community pool at the park last month amid the infighting.

Fort Lauderdale officials and some beach activists have been questioning the San Diego statistics and say developers should have mentioned the bankruptcy filing.

“This could be a game changer,” Commissioner Bruce Roberts said. “It makes you wonder why this was never brought to our attention.”

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 24, 2011 09:29 AM

FORT LAUDERDALE Commemoration of the civil rights sit-in at the beach 50 years ago will start next weekend with a day honoring one of the protest leaders.

City officials have declared July 3 as Eula Johnson Day. Johnson, who died in 2001, is often described as the Rosa Parks of Fort Lauderdale. She helped organize a small group of black residents to march on the whites-only beach on July 4, 1961.

The “wade-ins” that started that day were a turning point in Fort Lauderdale history. The city tried to declare Johnson a public nuisance and accused her of inciting chaos, but a judge refused to stop the protests and forced the city to end segregation.

The city will dedicate Johnson’s home on 1100 NW 6th St. as a museum and civil rights headquarters at 9 a.m. on July 4. A ceremony on the beach at Las Olas Boulevard will follow at 11 a.m. and will include the unveiling of a historic marker about the wade-in.

Lobbyist watch: Broward's lobbyists and their many conflicts of interest

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 24, 2011 08:00 AM

As Broward County commissioners consider who to hire to lobby on the county's behalf in Tallahassee, some quite interesting information was pulled together to help them.

For example: click on this link to see Ron Book's conflicts, and the number of conflicts the other lobbyists have had, according to the county. The conflicts are situations where the lobbyist is hired by two competing interests, or opposing interests, at the same time. The reason I single out Book is that he's had the most, and it's been made an issue by Commissioner Chip LaMarca.

June 23, 2011

The H word is vulgar in Plantation

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 23, 2011 12:15 PM

Plantation Councilman Bob Levy isn’t sure how it started within the last few months, but every time somebody on the City Council says the word “hurricane,” they owe $1 as punishment.

“We don’t say it for fear it will actually happen,” he said.

So at a meeting Wednesday night, city attorney Don Lunny referred to a “tropical event.”

Levy used the term “first named storm” but later forgot himself in a conversation about emergency services contracts and used the complete H word. Then he cupped his hand over his mouth and declared that he owed $1.

On Thursday he confessed he doesn’t know who to pay the $1 to, and he doesn’t know what the pot will be used for.

Floridians divide on Afghanistan pullout

> Posted by Staff Writer on June 23, 2011 12:01 PM

By William Gibson

Democrats think it’s time to get the heck out of Afghanistan and begin rebuilding our nation.
Republicans think it’s better to go slow until our generals think the conditions are right for stabilizing Afghanistan and fending off terrorism.

That’s the somewhat divided reaction among Florida members of Congress to President Obama’s compromise plan for pulling out gradually after a decade of war. Obama appeared to split the difference between his military advisers and a war-weary nation eager to bring the troops home.

The response was measured on Capitol Hill, with a subtle division along party lines.

“Al Qaida has scattered. Osama bin Laden is dead. And we’re spending close to $10 billion a month on this war,” said Ted Deutch, a Democrat from Boca Raton. “We need to focus on building up our own nation and creating jobs here at home.”

“The best way to do that is to wind down this war,” he said, reflecting the views of many Democrats.

On the Republican side of the aisle, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami said she understands the public’s desire to end the cost in blood and treasure but that “successfully completing our mission in Afghanistan is vital to our immediate and long-term national security interests.”

“The killing of Osama bin Laden does not mean that the job in Afghanistan is done,” said Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “

“Any reduction of our troop levels in Afghanistan must be conditions-based and supported by our commanders on the ground. The president has said that the gains we have made are fragile and reversible. While we all want to bring the troops home, we must not do so in a way that would forfeit their hard-won gains.”

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio echoed that theme.

“Even the slightest impression that the United States is looking to get out is devastating,” Rubio said. “It is one of the reasons why Pakistan continues to undermine our efforts to target Al Qaida."

But some Democrats in Congress are pressuring the president to accelerate the timetable for withdrawal.

“It is time to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home,” said Frederica Wilson, a Democrat from Miami and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. “I believe we need a sizeable, swift, and responsible reduction of troop levels to reunite our military families, refocus our priorities, and reinvest in jobs, education, and health care here at home.”

These divisions will play out over the summer leading up to the scheduled withdrawal of all troops by 2014.

Obituary: Tamarac's Marc Sultanof, 90; services Friday

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 23, 2011 09:53 AM

Mr. Sultanof's funeral will begin at noon Friday at Star of David Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Funeral Chapel, 7701 Bailey Road in North Lauderdale.

By Lisa J. Huriash, Sun Sentinel
TAMARAC— Marc Sultanof, a fixture of Tamarac's political scene for decades, died Tuesday in hospice at University Hospital & Medical Center in Tamarac, colleagues and a funeral home confirmed. He was 90.

Mr. Sultanof had been in and out of the hospital after he fell at his condo in April.

His legacy as a political powerhouse and the city's onetime vice mayor was sullied by his arrest last year on bribery charges. Mr. Sultanof pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial when he died.

"He still has a good legacy," said Len Ronik, president of Kings Point condos where he lived for decades. "He did a lot of good for the community. If anyone needed help with City Hall, Marc was there."

Commissioner Diane Glasser, who served as Mr. Sultanof's first campaign manager, said he "should be remembered for the passion he had for the city and the people he served."

"He had the city at heart at all times and as far as his constituents, they loved him, he paid a lot of attention to them," Glasser said. "He was a compassionate man who tried to do the best he could."

Mr. Sultanof grew up in Philadelphia, the son of Russian immigrants who ran an upholstery shop. The youngest of three children, he got his spending money as a boy from change he scrounged from the crevices of the furniture his parents re-upholstered.

He was the only child in the family to attend college, and he served in World War II. Later, as a Tamarac commissioner, he helped establish Veterans Park and the annual Veterans Assembly.

He worked as a construction executive, labor negotiator and mediator in New York before retiring to South Florida in 1988. He quickly became a protege of the late Norman Abramowitz, the former Tamarac mayor for whom City Hall is named.

Mr. Sultanof got involved in local politics by serving four years as president of his Kings Point neighborhood association. He also served three years as president of the Kings Point Democratic Club and five years on the city's planning and zoning board. He was elected to the Broward Democratic Executive Committee in November 1996 and the Broward Senior Hall of Fame in 1996.

He first ran for the city commission in March 1993 and lost. Four years later he came back for a win.

"My edge was the fact that a lot of people have faith in me," he told the Sun Sentinel after the election. He left office in 2008 because of term limits.

In the 1990s he advocated for more schools, libraries and playgrounds. "Seniors can't just take. We have to give," he told the Sun Sentinel in 1997.

After Hurricane Wilma in 2005, he loaded his car with water bottles left over from a public meeting to deliver to the Kings Point condo.

"There are some people who are isolated and need to be tended to," Mr. Sultanof said at the time.

In October, Mr. Sultanof was charged with six felonies alleging he accepted more than $30,000 for a car from developers Bruce and Shawn Chait in exchange for his vote for a large residential project in the city.

Broward prosecutors on Tuesday said they will ask a judge to dismiss the charges, a legal formality that will close the case.

Broward's Richard Rubin on vacation before sentencing

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 23, 2011 09:46 AM

Richard Rubin, husband of former Broward Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin, is squeezing in a vacation before he is sentenced next week for income tax evasion, court records show.

Rubin, 66, who pleaded guilty to the charge, could receive federal prison time when he is sentenced June 29. Sentencing guidelines are expected to recommend a prison term of between 10 and 16 months though U.S. District Judge William Zloch will have leeway to impose greater or lesser punishment.

Rubin sought and received the judge's permission to travel in Florida from June 19 to June 26.

Planned stops include a visit to the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum to "learn about Seminole Indian Tribe's Florida history and see alligators," according to Rubin's request. Next up for the couple: several nights at the Castaways Resort on Sanibel Island "fishing and searching for unique sea shells like the Junonia shell," then on to St. Augustine.

While in the historical city, Rubin and his wife plan to visit the fort of Castillo de San Marcos, built under the supervision of Manuel de Cendoya, governor of Florida under Spanish rule between 1670 and 1675. Wasserman-Rubin has said de Cendoya was her paternal ancestor.

On Wednesday, Rubin plans a four-hour canoe trip on the Juniper Springs River, then will spend a few days in the Orlando area with one of his sons, daughter-in-law and young grandsons before returning home Sunday to the Emerald Estates home in Weston where the couple now resides.

Rubin, a former grant writer for some Broward cities and real estate broker, has admitted understating his taxable income for 2005 by about $120,000, including $102,000 in real estate commission fees for a town of Davie land deal and more than $6,000 for the sale of a condo in Hollywood. Rubin underpaid his taxes, filed jointly with his wife, by about $35,000, prosecutors said.

Wasserman-Rubin, 64, resigned shortly before state prosecutors charged her last year with seven felony counts, alleging she made money from her commission votes in favor of projects her husband had written grants applications for on behalf of the town of Southwest Ranches. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Among the arguments Rubin is expected to make for a lighter sentence is that he needs to care for Wasserman-Rubin, who has publicly disclosed she has Parkinson's disease. In court records filed recently, Rubin's defense said Wasserman-Rubin's sister has medical problems and cannot drive, so would make an unsuitable full-time caretaker for the former county commissioner.

June 22, 2011

Pair of civic activists lead effort to save historic Fort Lauderdale home

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 22, 2011 03:22 PM

A pair of Fort Lauderdale activists are behind the last-ditch effort to save the crumbling remains of the home of one of Broward County’s first judges.

Alysa Plummer, president of the Sailboat Bend Civic Association, and Colee Hammock activist Jackie Scott have put together the deal that could move the Shippey House to a city park.
Scott has spent weeks pressing the case for preservation with the lawyer for the debt collection company that owns the home. Plummer then visited the lawyer at his offices in upstate New York and talked to him about how Fort Lauderdale needed to save its old homes just like the towns there.

“We define ourselves not only by what we build, but by what we knock down and what we preserve,” Plummer said. “When people realized that the wrecking ball was on its way, it created a different level of energy.”

The debt collection company will hold off demolition – which has been imminent since a state appellate court gave the go-ahead this spring. Scott is a local real estate agent, and RE/MAX Preferred has agreed to lead a fund-raising drive.

“This was a truly a no-brainer,” Scott said.

Preservationists need about $200,000 to move the house from its Southwest 7th Avenue location to Cooley’s Landing park and then restore it. It would become the offices of the Riverwalk Trust and the western anchor of the walkway along the historic New River.

The two-story house – built around 1914 of Dade Pine – often served as a wedding chapel when Judge Fred Shippey lived there. Shippey had presided over the wedding of Tarzan star and swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller, and news stories from the time tell of couples eloping from Miami to be married at Shippey’s home.

Meanwhile, activist Cal Deal, who helped find much of the historic information about Shippey, has set up a web site to help raise money. Click here to view the site.

Panel looks into Hastings alleged sex harassment

> Posted by Staff Writer on June 22, 2011 01:09 PM

By William Gibson

A House advisory panel is looking into allegations of sexual harassment against South Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings, according to the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch.

The inquiry stems from a lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch on behalf of Winsome Packer, a former staff worker at a commission chaired by Hastings. The suit, filed in March, accuses Hastings of making “unwelcome sexual advances” and of retaliating against Packer when she complained.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said the independent Office of Congressional Ethics contacted Packer regarding the allegations in the lawsuit.

The panel, which does not include current members, was established by the House in March 2008 to provide an extra layer of inquiry into alleged unethical behavior. The panel advises the House Ethics Committee, which can choose whether to launch an investigation of its own and recommend sanctions to the full House.

“She (Packer) tried to get the ethics office involved last year but never heard back until May,” said Fitton.

“We’re pleased the investigation is proceeding,” he said. “It’s about time. It’s the least they could do, given the gravity of the allegations.”

Hastings, a Democrat from Miramar, could not be reached for comment Wednesday morning. He flatly denied the allegations in March.

"I have never sexually harassed anyone," he said. "In fact, I am insulted that these ludicrous allegations are being made against me. When all the facts are known in this case, the prevailing sentiment will be, 'How bizarre!' "

Judicial Watch is a long-time critic of Hastings and tried to dissuade House leaders in 2006 from naming him to lead the House intelligence committee.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, alleges that Packer "was forced to endure unwelcome sexual advances, crude sexual comments and unwelcome touching by Mr. Hastings" from January 2008 to February 2010 when she served as a representative in Vienna for the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Air show, road race plans advance for Fort Lauderdale beach

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 22, 2011 12:22 PM

Fort Lauderdale officials have given the go-ahead for promoters to explore two major events on the beach – the return of the Air & Sea Show and a Monte Carlo-style road race.

Backers of the air show now can line up aircraft and sponsors as well as begin negotiating agreements needed to close off part of the beach next spring. Meanwhile, the city’s blessing means backers of the grand prix can undertake detailed engineering studies on using beach streets for a race beginning in fall 2013.

The Air & Sea Show ran for 13 years but ended after the 2007 show when its title sponsors withdrew. Promoters told city commissioners that they envision a scaled-down event that would run from noon to 4 p.m. April 28-29.

Longtime beach developer Ramola Motwani is joining with a company that runs other air shows to propose the revival. They said they would try to get the Air Force’s Thunderbirds for next year and the Blue Angels for 2013.

A group of racing world insiders want to host a grand prix in which IndyCar drivers would follow a course along State Road A1A and surrounding seaside streets at speeds of up to 185 mph.

Mayor Jack Seiler said the Fort Lauderdale Grand Prix potentially would occur in early October before the International Boat Show. He said the promoters will now reach out to neighborhood groups about the idea as well as develop the more detailed plans that the IZOD IndyCar Series needs.

Bahia Mar vote exposed activist divide

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 22, 2011 10:07 AM

Fort Lauderdale’s decision Tuesday on redeveloping the Bahia Mar resort was most poignant because of the lack of any opposition.

For two weeks, city commissioners had been deluged with e-mail and internet blogs raising questions and challenging the $250 million project by LXR Resorts. A former Planning Board member Rochelle Golub began the attack, which eventually involved one-time mayoral candidate Earl Rynerson.

But when commissioners opened the public hearing, no one spoke out against the plans. Rather, the community activists who were there came to support the redevelopment, which will bring a Waldorf Astoria high-rise and waterfront park to the resort on the barrier island.

Many had worked for a year on a compromise that had come under attack. Under the compromise, the developers had dropped plans for twin condo towers and revamped the public amenities. The final plan included a park along the Intracoastal Waterway with gardens and a wedding pavilion, a community center and a promenade extending around the property.

Representatives of the Central Beach Alliance – the neighborhood association for the beach – noted that they supported the original plans and stood behind the compromise. Leaders of the Idlewyld neighborhood across the Intracoastal had led compromise discussions and argued that the developers had agreed to a project more open to the public with more accessible park space and more restrictions on future growth.

Idlewyld leader Mary Fertig summed up the unusual divide in a letter to commissioners:

“In recent days, many efforts have been made to derail the progress we, as a community, have made,” Fertig wrote. “The details of the project and the gains we have achieved have been distorted and misrepresented to large numbers of people.”

Some had also raised questions about whether the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show would be protected. It's long been held at the Bahia Mar and is a major tourism draw each year.

But sponsors and managers of the boat show joined the Bahia Mar developers. They said the redevelopment represented the best chance to ensure the boat show's international stature.

The only voice of opposition within the commission chambers came from City Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom. She reiterated concern she had about the legality of the long-term lease that now must be negotiated and whether the beach could handle the extra parking and traffic.

But she drew a rare rebuke from a colleague during the debate. She suggested that commissioners might be violating their oath to uphold the city charter by supporting the deal. That prompted Commissioner Bruce Roberts to tell her that she had gone too far and that he was insulted by the statement.

Broward taxpayers, are lobbyists worth your 11 cents?

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 22, 2011 08:00 AM

Broward County spends the equivalent of 11 cents per person in this county to hire lobbyists.

That's actually less than what the neighboring counties to the north and south spend, according to Broward officials. But the whole topic of lobbyists is always a tough sell to residents, county commissioners acknowledged. Some people might want to keep that 11 cents in their pockets.

Commissioner Stacy Ritter said state lobbyists are "a necessary evil'' because commissioners can't be in Tallahassee constantly.

Commissioner Dale Holness said he realized "some people don't like the word, and I know it's not comfortable for most of us.''

Commissioners once again talked about and evaluated their spending on lobbyists who work for Broward in Tallahassee and in Washington, D.C. They want to consider changing things a bit, maybe giving more work and money to fewer firms, to try to get better results. On table right now is the work lobbying the state Legislature in 2012.

June 21, 2011

Bahia Mar redevelopment wins city approval

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 21, 2011 09:21 PM

FORT LAUDERDALE Developers won city approval Tuesday for their $250 million plans to overhaul the aging Bahia Mar resort.

The city gave permission to build a high-rise Waldorf Astoria alongside a renovated Bahia Mar hotel and a new waterfront park and promenade. Now the city and LXR Resorts must negotiate a new lease that potentially will tie up the prime publicly-owned land for 100 years.

Leaders of surrounding neighborhood associations and the sponsors of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show united to support LXR. The redevelopment faced criticism from other activists during the past two weeks about its legality and whether the public would benefit enough, but no one spoke against the plans at the City Commission hearing.

“This will become a landmark destination,” LXR executive Peter Henn said. “For the first time in decades, Bahia Mar will be opened up to the public.”

The plans represent a series of compromises over the past year. Two condo towers were dropped, public amenities expanded and restrictions placed on further development.

The plans include a plaza of shops and restaurants along State Road A1A and a permanent home for the boat show. The park would encompass about two acres primarily along the Intracoastal Waterway with a 20-foot-wide promenade running a mile around the property’s edge.

High school football, pro soccer can continue at Lockhart

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 21, 2011 04:53 PM

FORT LAUDERDALE High school sports teams can continue to play football at Lockhart Stadium, and the professional Strikers soccer team can stay as well.

A last-minute deal with the Federal Aviation Administration will allow the sporting events to continue at the stadium next to the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport for six more months. The reprieve allows the city time to negotiate with developers to build a water park resort there.

“This was a community issue,” Mayor Jack Seiler said Tuesday as the city accepted the terms of the new deal. “We have a little breathing room now, and hopefully we can now deal with what happens long term.”

Broward high school football has been played at Lockhart for more than 50 years. In addition to being the home field of Fort Lauderdale and Stranahan highs, Dillard High plays some of its games at Lockhart as well including its annual Soul Bowl against rival Branche Ely High.

Both the school district and Strikers were scrambling to find new places to play because leases for the stadium were set to expire June 30. The FAA demanded that all profits from both the school district and soccer team go to the airport.

The FAA has a strong say in what happens at Lockhart and adjacent Fort Lauderdale Stadium because it gave the property along with the land underneath Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport to the city in 1947.

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers has been using the stadium as well and didn’t want to go anywhere else. They have seven games scheduled at Lockhart between July and September.

South Florida members of Congress pressured the FAA last week to allow games to continue. The FAA agreed to the six-month lease extension as long as the airport receive 10 percent of the stadium profits – double the amount received in the past.

The city has been negotiating with Schlitterbahn Development Group to build a water park resort and updated recreational complex. Schlitterbahn made its $110 million proposal last summer and is the only long-term redevelopment the FAA has deemed acceptable.

The city began looking to redevelop the stadiums after the Baltimore Orioles baseball team decided in 2009 to move its spring training to Sarasota.

Plan afoot to save historic Shippey House from demolition

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 21, 2011 03:19 PM

Developers were slated to demolish the crumbling Shippey House in Sailboat Bend next month, but civic activists and city officials are looking at a last-minute plan to move it.

The Shippey House would be relocated to the city’s Cooley’s Landing park and used as offices for Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale Trust. The home’s relocation and repair could cost more than $200,000, and plans are underway for a corporate fund-raiser.

City commissioners on Tuesday agreed in principle to allow the house to be located in the park and asked Shippey House supporters to come up with more specific financial plans within a couple weeks.

Activists say the Shippey House would anchor the west end of Riverwalk just as the Stranahan House anchors the east end.

“We find this to be an awesome opportunity,” said Genia Ellis of the Riverwalk Trust. “It would be dignified history along our river.”

Built between 1914 and 1918 for one of the area’s first judges, the Shippey House rapidly deteriorated as a salvage effort failed three years ago and a debt collection company seized ownership.

A state appellate court in West Palm Beach cleared the way in January for the demolition. The owner – New York-based CVM 1 REO LLC – sued after city commissioners refused in 2009 to grant a demolition permit because they deemed the Shippey House historic.

Fred B. Shippey was Broward County’s second judge, serving from 1920 to 1933.

“There is no reason not to try to salvage this house if we can,” Mayor Jack Seiler said. “The Shippey House is a historic structure and is something that we ought to try to save.”

Broward Politics -- Geller's hand gestures, and other favorite videos

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 21, 2011 08:00 AM

Just for fun today I'm giving you some of my favorite videos, beginning with a silly musical hand-dance by then-candidate Steve Geller, the former state senator who was running for County Commission. He was doing so much hand gesturing, I just couldn't pay attention to what he was talking about.

This one below is a short snippet, the response by a Fort Lauderdale homeowner to my possibly dumb question, "How do you feel.'' At the time, the city was using heavy machinery to scrape her yard of all the items she and her husband had picked up from peoples' bulk trash.

There are more videos on the jump page. Click on the "continue reading'' link below to get there.

June 20, 2011

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 20, 2011 08:00 AM

Broward County Mayor Sue Gunzburger said she didn't expect to like Broward's new congressman, U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation. But she does. A lot.

"We got along famously,'' she recalled of their first connection, which was on a trip she made to Washington, D.C. "He’s friendly. He’s smart. ... He's charming. He has charisma. And he's bright, so bright!'' West replaced Democrat Ron Klein, of Boca, despite Klein's best efforts to win.

Gunzburger said she was "expecting not to like the man because philosophically we are at opposite ends of the spectrum.''

Gunzburger said it was that previous meeting with Rep. West that explains why he popped into her office recently when he was on the fourth floor to see the sole Republican on the County Commission, Chip LaMarca.

LaMarca said he asked, "Where did he go? They said, 'He’s in with the mayor.' I said, 'the what?' "

But he really was there to talk up a plan by the Florida Panthers to get the county to help renovate BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.

"All of a sudden at the end of this he started talking about 'it would be really nice if we put up curtains and bars at the arena.' ... He just said it would be really good if the county would help them out with curtains and bars, that that would be a great enhancement for the arena.''

Gunzburger never supported public financing for the arena, and still doesn't, she said.

She's been there, she said, to see Billy Joel, and Simon and Garfunkel, to name two events. She said she's also been to two Panthers games.

"Well they don’t have a very good team,'' she said. "When they get some talent, it would be fun. I’m an old Detroiter. I grew up with hockey.''

June 19, 2011

Who knew what, when in Lauderdale Lakes?

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 19, 2011 07:56 AM

Lauderdale Lakes residents are upset, and the public officials are pointing fingers. In this short video snipped you'll see some of both, as the city tries to dig out from a budget debacle. Lauderdale Lakes meets the state criteria as a city in "financial emergency.''

June 18, 2011

Fort Lauderdale set to decide on redevelopment plans for Bahia Mar

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 18, 2011 01:13 PM

FORT LAUDERDALE Tuesday is decision time on redeveloping the aging Bahia Mar resort. And, the plans that the city will consider could tie up the prime public property on the barrier island for a century.

Last-minute opposition has arisen against the deal that would bring a Waldorf-Astoria hotel to the beach.

The critics charge that the public will see little benefit even though developers have agreed to build a park, waterfront promenade and community center alongside the high-rise hotel. They question the deal’s legality and whether the International Boat Show will have a permanent home as promised.

City commissioners are scheduled to vote on design plans by LXR Resorts and then it will likely take nine months to negotiate the specifics of back-to-back 50-year leases. The time lag could push a vote on the leases beyond the spring elections when the mayor and commission are seeking new terms in office.

The criticism has stunned developers and neighborhood activists who worked out a compromise last fall. The project was scaled down. The proposed public spaces expanded.

“Bahia Mar and the entire South Beach area is blighted,” LXR executive Peter Henn said. “We want to be part of the beach renaissance and can be part of the catalyst to make it happen.”

In addition to the Waldorf-Astoria, LXR’s plans include renovating the current Bahia Mar into a Doubletree hotel and constructing a plaza of restaurants and shops along State Road A1A. LXR has 51 years left on its existing lease and promises the public amenities in exchange for a new agreement and approval of its development plans.

The $250 million project would be privately financed with no commitment of tax money.

Community activists Cal Deal and Ray Dettman say the public deserves more access and more benefit from land it owns. Fort Lauderdale acquired the property when the Coast Guard decommissioned its base there following the end of World War II.

“No matter how big it is, it probably won't be of much practical value to the people who actually live here,” Deal said of the proposed park. “It will be a hard-to-get-at patch of grass with big boats blocking the view, and nothing to do.”

Dettman termed the park “a joke” in an e-mail to commissioners.

LXR would spend $9 million on public amenities. Henn says the proposed park would represent the largest on the barrier island between Hugh Taylor Birch State Park on Sunrise Boulevard and John U. Lloyd State Park in Dania Beach.

The park space encompasses almost two acres primarily along the Intracoastal Waterway. There is a wedding pavilion, gardens and restaurant. A 20-foot-wide promenade would run about a mile around the edge of the property – wider than the walk along South Beach in Miami.

Mayor Jack Seiler is defending the LXR proposal as a major breakthrough in making the property more public.

“I just find it ironic that people are saying we’re giving up public land if we do this deal,” Seiler said. “We’ve never had real access to this land because it is in a long-term lease. We can leave it as it is, and it won’t be improved or available for the public to use.”

Other critics are focusing on what happens after the city approves the design plans. They argue a new long-term lease will be a foregone conclusion and that its terms are unacceptable.

Fort Lauderdale lawyer Rochelle Golub set off the new wave of criticism two weeks ago when she told commissioners that she regretted supporting the Bahia Mar plans as a member of the city planning board.

She questioned if the 100-year terms violate the city charter, if the city is guaranteed the new hotel will be a Waldorf Astoria and if private condos should be built on public land. She also is concerned about LXR’s commitment to hosting the boat show.

LXR and its supporters have scrambled to respond since.

The city charter says that the Bahia Mar property cannot be leased for more than 50 years without public bids, but city attorneys have said a 50-year lease with a 50-year extension would be legal.

Henn said LXR’s parent company owns the Waldorf Astoria brand and plans for the new hotel to be one. He said the hotel would carry the industry equivalent of at least a four-star rating.

Four stories of the 26-story hotel would be dedicated to condos. Henn said Waldorf Astoria hotels traditionally include condos and that the 27 units are needed to make the financing work.

The boat show has been key to city support for redevelopment because of its large economic impact each year. Henn said LXR is committed to hosting the show and is negotiating a new long-term deal.

LXR has the continuing support of the activists who worked on last fall’s compromise.

Mary Fertig, a leader of the nearby Idlewyld neighborhood, said LXR made significant concessions and that neighboring residents face the possibility of something far worse if the proposal is rejected. LXR is allowed to construct six 120-foot-high apartment buildings under its current lease and zoning.

Commissioner Bruce Roberts delayed a vote two weeks ago after the new questions began. He said he has received the assurances he wanted, but Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom said she will press ahead with raising the latest concerns Tuesday.

“Tuesday is a game-changer,” Rodstrom said. “We will lose any leverage in negotiating the lease by approving the plans of what they want to do with the site. This will set things up to tie up the property longer than it ever has been in its history.”

June 17, 2011

Air show, road race proposed for Fort Lauderdale beach

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 17, 2011 06:21 PM

FORT LAUDERDALE Two major events are looking at coming to the city’s beach. One is the return of the Air & Sea Show; the other is a Monte Carlo-style street race.

A group of promoters want to resurrect the air show next April. They propose a scaled-down version of the annual event that long drew tens of thousands of people to the beach to watch stunt pilots and view fighter jets and bombers.

The street race could come in fall 2013. A group of racing world insiders want to host a grand prix in which IndyCar drivers would follow a course along State Road A1A and surrounding seaside streets at speeds of up to 185 mph.

Both events are seeking the tentative endorsement of city commissioners next week so they can draw up more detailed plans. Neither has asked for the city for financial support.

“These are two signature events that would have a significant impact on Fort Lauderdale with national and international attention,” Mayor Jack Seiler said. “The city has always been a tourist destination, but you got to constantly keep reminding everyone about how Fort Lauderdale is such a great place to visit.”

The old Air & Sea Show ran for 13 years but ended after the 2007 show when its title sponsors withdrew. At its peak, the event was televised in 144 countries, serving as a marketing tool for the city as the “Venice of America.”

An effort to bring back an air show last year failed when organizers could not secure the necessary cash.

Longtime beach developer Ramola Motwani is joining with a firm that runs other air shows to propose the return next spring. B. Lilley Inc. has produced the air show in Cocoa Beach for three years and one in Ocean City, Md., for four years. Both events have been headlined by the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds.

They want the show to run from noon to 4 p.m. on April 28-29 with more limited closing of A1A and Sunrise Boulevard. To prepare for the show’s possible return, Seiler said he wrote the Air Force and the Navy two months ago to reserve aircraft for 2012 and 2013.

The Fort Lauderdale Grand Prix would potentially join the IZOD IndyCar Series, according to promoters.

IndyCar conducts 17 races a year in the United States, Canada, Japan and Brazil with its premiere event being the Indianapolis 500. The series lost its presence in South Florida last year when it dropped its race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Fort Lauderdale race promoters include construction executive Dale Dillon, who has been involved in the grand prixes in St. Petersburg and Toronto, and Ryan Hunter-Reay, a top IndyCar driver who grew up in the area. They received permission from the IndyCar Series to explore a Fort Lauderdale race and will pursue detailed engineering plans for a race route if the city gives the go-ahead.

They propose a three-day event with about 120 professional and amateur teams competing in a variety of races over a two-mile route. They have told city officials that Fort Lauderdale could become the preeminent street-course race in motorsports in the United States, on par with Monaco.

Similar IndyCar races drew 150,000 spectators, according to IndyCar officials and promoters. IndyCar’s races are broadcast on ABC and NBC Universal’s Versus sports channel, and promoters say they would seek to have Fort Lauderdale be one of the major telecasts.

“When you look at the backdrop of the beach and the Intracoastal Waterway and the marina, it would be one of the more exciting events that I’ve seen in my 25 years in IndyCar,” Dillon said. “We truly believe that it could rival some of the top races in the world.”

Indianapolis 500-style cars once raced around the streets of Miami, but the IndyCar race has long been at Homestead. When the race ended there last year, Homestead track officials said the event no longer made business sense because of IndyCar’s money demands.

IndyCar spokesman Terry Angstadt, though, said the race series likes South Florida and is intrigued by the Fort Lauderdale proposal. Homestead, he said, was challenging because it was a remote location and had trouble drawing a crowd.

The Fort Lauderdale race would largely use city streets with barriers built up around them. Promoters tell city officials that the beach would remain accessible during the weekend.

Beach activists said they need more information about both the air show and the IndyCar race.

Fred Carlson, a spokesman for the Central Beach Alliance, said he would like the air show to return, but he was concerned about the potential disruption of a street race. Tim Schiavone, the longtime owner of the Parrot Lounge and member of the county tourism board, said he wanted more details to decide if the events would help business.

“I’m in favor of any event on Fort Lauderdale beach that can have a strong economic impact coupled with a long-term ‘it’ factor,” Schiavone said.

Hispanic population soars but few hold elected office

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 17, 2011 02:55 PM

The Hispanic population has soared to almost one in four residents of Broward and Palm Beach counties, but the burgeoning numbers have produced few elected leaders.

Hispanics now account for close to 23 percent of the two counties’ 3 million residents. Among the 400-plus elected officials, from town commissioners to members of Congress, just three percent are Hispanic.

“It’s one thing to look at Census numbers and have a sense of our community, but when you look at the table of government, where decisions are made on our behalf, we’re largely absent,” said Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo, one of the few Hispanic elected officials in the two counties.

There isn’t any kind of official tally.

Voter registration records aren’t definitive because Hispanic wasn’t an option for anyone who signed up to vote before 1995; it’s been a category since then, but it isn’t required.

And names aren’t telling. People may think, for example, Dania Beach Commissioner Anne Castro is Hispanic because of her name, but she isn’t. And people might not realize Boynton Beach Commissioner Marlene Ross or Broward School Board member Patricia Good are Hispanic.

Based on interviews with current and former elected officials and political party activists, the two counties have 15 Hispanic elected officials among the roughly 450 serving in city, town, village and county governments, School Boards, the state Legislature and Congress. The total doesn’t include judges, who often are appointed to the bench and then stand for election. The two counties have 689,070 Hispanic residents.

Amanda Fleites, secretary of the Palm Beach County Democratic Hispanic Caucus and executive vice president of the county’s Young Democrats, is looking forward to a time when the region’s elected officials better reflect the people they’re governing.

“We are only beginning to exercise our numbers,” she said. “I believe there is going to be a breakthrough.”

When that breakthrough might come is unclear. "My gut tells me give it another 10 years," said Kevin Hill of Weston, a political scientist at Florida International University. But, he said, a decade ago he thought there would be many more Hispanic elected officials today.

Hill and John Ramos, the state Democratic committeeman from Palm Beach County, said more Hispanics need to run. That would help increase Hispanic turnout. And the combination of more candidates and greater turnout would produce more victories. More victories would inspire even more candidates to run for office.

Ramos said it might not happen for another generation. "You now have Hispanic families developing roots. It's going to take the next generation standing on their shoulders."

Political scientists, party activists, and elected officials say there are myriad reasons why the number of Hispanics holding office has lagged the surge in population, and why it might take a generation for that to change.

Spread out population. While there are some places – such as Weston with a 45 percent Hispanic population and Lake Worth with 40 percent – Hispanics are spread throughout the two counties. Two-thirds of the cities, towns and villages in Broward and Palm Beach counties have Hispanic populations in the double digits.

"We're spread out. We're not concentrated in a community. We're disbursed out," Ramos said. That means there are few places where there's a large enough population base of Hispanics to decide an election.

Even in southern and western Broward, where there are more Hispanic residents than most other places in the two counties, former Florida Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller, D-Cooper City, said there aren't concentrations large enough to draw a Hispanic-majority state legislative district.

In Miami-Dade County, by contrast, Hispanics total 65 percent of the population, providing a critical mass to elect Hispanics almost everywhere in the county. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials estimates Miami-Dade County has more than 80 Hispanic elected officials.

Divergent interests, culture. The Hispanic population in Broward and Palm Beach counties is more diverse – and not necessarily unified – in contrast to Miami-Dade County, where 34 percent of the population has Cuban ancestry. "The ‘Hispanic community' doesn't really exist in that it is very diverse," Hill said.

"If you look at the Hispanic population, the thing that we have in common is a language – which is often spoken with slightly different accents. However, apart from that, many of our countries have different music, different histories, different foods, different experiences," Castillo said. "You can't really compare the Mexican experience to the Cuban experience or the Puerto Rican experience or the Venezuelan experience. They're all very different."

The diversity, Castillo and Hill said, makes it more difficult for Hispanics to come together to elect someone in Broward or Palm Beach counties.

Divided political loyalties. Hispanic voters in Broward and Palm Beach counties are divided among Democrats, Republicans and independents.

State Rep. Jeanette Nuñez, R-Miami, whose district includes part of South Broward, and Tony Velazquez, a Republican committeeman from Pembroke Pines, said the division between parties makes it more difficult for Hispanics to influence primaries. Those primaries often decide who will win the office in a general election.

Jewish voters, by contrast, are overwhelmingly Democratic. And in Miami-Dade County, Nuñez said, the large Cuban-American population is largely Republican. That gives voters in those demographic groups primary clout.

Not eligible to vote. The Hispanic population is younger than the population as a whole, so there's a larger pool of Hispanics who aren't yet old enough to vote than there is in the general population. And some newer Hispanic residents aren't yet citizens. Both the young and non-citizens are included in the Census, but they can't contribute to voting blocs.

Among Hispanics who are citizens and old enough to vote, there is interest. A Census Bureau analysis of the 2008 election found 72 percent of whites, 69 percent of Hispanics and 64 percent of blacks registered to vote in Florida.

Many of those factors aren't present in the African-American and Caribbean-American communities, political scientists and politicians said. Black residents more often live in communities with many other black residents, which often means a population base large enough to elect candidates. Black churches push hard to get worshipers to vote. And black voters are so Democratic that they have lots of influence in the party's primaries.

Charles Zelden, a professor of history and legal studies who specializes in politics and voting at Nova Southeastern University, said Broward and Palm Beach counties will be different from Miami-Dade County. Spread out population and divided party loyalties mean the most successful Hispanic candidates will be the ones who can appeal to non-Hispanic voters.

Jose Rodriguez said that's how he was elected mayor of Boynton Beach. "My name is very ethnic, Jose Rodriguez, but being Hispanic should not be at the forefront," he said. "I was elected, I believe, based on my platform, my education, my experience, and what I brought to the community."

Nuñez said it's important to have more elected officials who come from the same backgrounds as the people they're representing.

"It makes for better policy," she said, and gives citizens "a sense of somebody that understands their background, their culture, their sense of this community."

Staff researchers John Maines and Dana Williams contributed to this report.

Monday is deadline to register to vote in special Deerfield Beach election

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 17, 2011 02:17 PM

Monday is the deadline to register to vote for anyone who wants to participate in next month’s special election to replace suspended Deerfield Beach Commissioner Sylvia Poitier.

Anyone registered for previous elections may vote in the special election. The deadline applies only to new voters.

Registration requirements are simple: A voter must be be 18 by Election Day — July 19 4 — and be a U.S. citizen. Felons who haven’t had their voting rights restored and people judged mentally incompetent aren’t eligible.

People can register by filling out a registration form and get it back to the Supervisor of Elections Office by the end of the business day Monday. People can register at county elections offices, public libraries and driver’s license offices.

Other government offices, such as city halls and post offices often have the forms. But it’s up to the person registering to get the form to the Elections Office.

Also, people may request absentee ballots, the Supervisor of Elections Office said.

Information: Go online to www.browardsoe.org (click on the “Register to Vote” tab on the left side) or call 954-357-7050.

Report card time: Legislators get graded on special political curve

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 17, 2011 01:52 PM

It’s report card time, when various interest groups grade members of the Florida Legislature on the results of the spring session.

As always, the results are predictable.

Business groups give stellar grades to Republicans and flunk almost all the Democrats the Democrats. People with a more liberal view of the world give Fs to the Republicans and As to the Democrats.

On Friday, for example, the Florida Chamber of Commerce announced that 43 members of the Florida Legislature were getting the group’s “Distinguished Advocate” award for “fighting for free enterprise at the Capitol.”

Only two of the 43 were Democrats.

It was similar with Associated Industries of Florida’s annual report card. It gave “2011 Champion for Business” awards to 18 senators and representatives – 17 Republicans and one Democrat.

Business groups aren’t alone in selecting votes that produce results that favor its point of view.

From the liberal end of the spectrum, Progress Florida, Florida Watch Action and America Votes recognized 21 members of the Legislature as “Champions of Florida’s Middle Class.” They got the recognition, the groups said, “for their unwavering support on behalf of Florida’s working families.”

Parched pols: Mayor Kaplan says Holness was the thirsty one

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 17, 2011 08:05 AM

In the ongoing concern that Broward's politicians will die of thirst because of the new Broward County Code of Ethics, Lauderhill Mayor Richard Kaplan gives an update.

Kaplan had called County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman with his water bottle concerns,
saying it was nonsensical that an elected official had to reject a bottle of water at a recent public event. I brought you a video snippet about this, so click here if you missed it. The water-bottle example is a popular one among Broward politicians complaining that the new code of ethics is so strict, it's ridiculous.

Kaplan explained later that he wasn't the thirsty politician in question. He said it was a hot day, his city and Broward County were co-sponsoring an event, and County Commissioner Dale Holness was deprived of the water even though he pays taxes to the county.

It was my belief that the interpretation was taken to extremes, even if it could be a dangerous situation,'' Kaplan said. "So I feel that the ethic code should address this in a more logical way.''

He also said: "I didn’t need anyone passing out. ''

Read Kaplan's full explanation by clicking on the hotlink below.

Brittany,

I feel compelled to explain about the reference Commissioner Lieberman was making about the water bottle.

We had a groundbreaking for the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center/Library, which is a joint project paid for by the County and City. However, the City paid for the food and drink for the public that day. Lauderhill taxpayers paid for this event, and it was free to them. Commissioner Holness is a Lauderhill resident and is a Lauderhill taxpayer, so his taxes paid for these refreshments for the public. It was also an extremely hot sunny day, so the city wanted to make sure everyone stayed hydrated.

Unfortunately, due to an interpretation of the county code, Commission Holness could not except water from the city, though it was from his own tax dollars. Using this logic, since we do not charge our residents for EMS service, except for billing insurance companies, he could not use any city services either.

It was my belief that the interpretation was taken to extremes, even if it could be a dangerous situation. So I feel that the ethic code should address this in a more logical way.

June 16, 2011

Bahia Mar headed back to vote next week in Fort Lauderdale

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 16, 2011 09:00 AM

The city commissioner who held up a key vote on the Bahia Mar redevelopment says he is largely satisfied and ready to let the project move ahead.

City Commissioner Bruce Roberts asked his colleagues on June 7 to delay a vote on the design plans after last-minute questions were raised. He told the Sun Sentinel that he has always favored redevelopment and expects to have the answers he wanted by the end of a final round of meetings with developers and activists this week.

“This has been five years in the making,” Roberts said. “Everyone knows we need something new there and we are moving in the right direction in terms of the negotiation.”

The developers and activists who crafted a compromise last fall were surprised when city commissioners delayed the vote. The reason was a last-minute e-mail from Rochelle Golub, a longtime member of the city planning member, but since then, others have since joined in her criticism of the project.

Golub challenged whether the city is guaranteed the new hotel will be a Waldorf Astoria, why any condos were needed and whether a 100-year deal violates the city charter.

LXR Resorts has proposed a new luxury Waldorf-Astoria, a renovated Bahia Mar hotel, a waterfront park and a permanent home for the annual International Boat Show. The deal requires the city property to be tied up in leases for the next 100 years.

Roberts said the proposal is substantially better from the original presented last year that included high-rise condo towers. He said the city would still have another nine months to negotiate specific details of the lease with LXR.

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 16, 2011 08:33 AM

U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, and Ilena Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, are helping launch a new congressional caucus that brings together Latino and Jewish members of Congress.

The 16 members of the Latino-Jewish Caucus come from diverse personal backgrounds, both political parties, and represent different kinds of districts, but they said Latino and Jewish cultures have much in common.

“So much of our country’s diversity is owed to what these immigrant and ethnic groups have added to our country’s cultural fabric,” Wasserman Schultz’ office said in a statement.

“As an American Jew, my community has faced issues similar to modern challenges for the Latino community: immigration, assimilation, and caring for the aging and less fortunate. Both the Latino and Jewish communities identify with the importance of family, veneration of elders, and the trials and tribulations of being an immigrant group,” Wasserman Schultz said.

Wasserman Schultz and Ros-Lehtinen are co-chairwomen of the group, along with two co-chairmen, U.S. Reps. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.

They launched the caucus Tuesday evening in Washington, D.C., at an event that included both the Mexican and Israeli Ambassadors to the U.S.

One other Florida representative, U.S. Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, is part of the group.

June 15, 2011

New Fort Lauderdale manager meets with community leaders

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 15, 2011 11:19 AM

Fort Lauderdale’s new city manager, Lee Feldman, introduced himself to community leaders Wednesday morning and laid out his plans to restructure city government.

Feldman, who previously was the city manager of Palm Bay, started work Monday and promised the crowd to improve relations with neighborhoods and to better monitor how well government agencies are performing their job. Feldman was introduced to the crowd by Mayor Jack Seiler.

The Fort Lauderdale Forum is a monthly chatgroup led by former Mayor Rob Dressler. It was a packed house for the first view of Feldman, ranging from downtown business leaders like Doug Eagon of Stiles Corp. and Luke Moorman of Carroll's Jewelers to neighborhood activists like Fred Carlson and Ray Dettman.

Photo: Former Sheriff Jenne's phone by the toilet

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 15, 2011 10:19 AM

Some of you zeroed in on the sheriff's bathroom as the most intriguing element of my recent video tour of the "million-dollar office'' suites of former Sheriff Ken Jenne and his top staff.

So I give you this morning a photo of what some of you said was the best frame in the video: the telephone by the toilet. You never know when you might need to make an important phone call. But if it rings when you're there, that might make you nervous.

New study backs red-light cameras

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 15, 2011 09:00 AM

Amid the debate over the growing use of red-light cameras in South Florida, a new study is defending them as a way to help reduce traffic accidents.

The study by the University of Missouri said the safety benefits outweigh the potential for abuse. Carlos Sun, an associate professor of civil engineering at Missouri, cited statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that indicate almost a third of all traffic fatalities are speed related, and that running red lights accounts for 883 fatalities and 165,000 injuries each year.

According to the university media office, Sun examined automated speed enforcement studies from around the world as well as the recent national traffic accident data to make his conclusions. Proponents of the red-light cameras have previously cited the national accident data as well.

“A red light camera is not a panacea for traffic problems; it is a very effective tool for safe and efficient transportation,” said Sun in a news release from the school. “Just like any other tool, it should be used responsibly in the proper situation. The decision to use automated traffic enforcement tools requires a balancing act, but we shouldn’t take away an effective tool just because of the potential for abuse.”

Sun said the cameras have a spillover effect by making drivers more likely to respect red lights at other intersections as well.

Sun, though, did find room for improvement. He said certain contracts between cities and private vendors can lead to public mistrust and accusations that they are there to generate revenue rather than improve safety.

“If people wanted to create a scheme to make money, it would have to involve many people who all have a charge to do their duty well,” he said. “The irony of red light camera enforcement is that if people obeyed the law, the revenue wouldn’t be generated.”

"It seems natural that Sen. Bob Graham's first foray into fiction, the flawed but ultimately compelling "Keys to the Kingdom," would focus on subjects he knows best -- the political arena and national security. After all, few authors come even close to having Graham's insider view, sharpened by almost a lifetime in politics, both as a two-time governor of Florida and 18 years as a U.S. Senator, as well as serving on numerous national committees."

A I was angry at what I thought were the undisclosed secrets of 9-11. I was angry that there appeared to be an organized and so far effective effort to cover up information important to the American people. I had written nonfiction about those events both in the final report of the Congressional Inquiry Committee and in the book "Intelligence Matters." In both of those, there was a degree of censorship of what the public could learn. In a novel, I could tell much of the story in a way that would be both educational and entertaining.

Allen West vs. Lois Frankel race seen as one of 2012's hottest contests

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 14, 2011 11:44 AM

POLITICO has listed a possible race between freshman U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, and former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel as one of its seven 2012 dream races.

"Presidential contests tend to overshadow everything else on the ballot. But a handful of potential 2012 matchups already have blockbuster appeal — marquee pairings that could steal the thunder of even the White House race and satisfy the most insatiable of political junkies," Politico wrote.

Allen West vs. Lois Frankel

Freshman tea party prince Allen West will be a top takedown priority for Democrats, no matter who runs against him. But a scrum with controversial former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel could provide fireworks in southern Florida. The bombastic West earned national notoriety for calling Islam a “totalitarian ideology” and “not a religion.” But Frankel is no shrinking violet — in fact, she has a reputation for taking a no-holds barred approach to her opponents and the media.

The likelihood: Very possible. West has already begun organizing for 2012; Frankel dodged a bullet when former Rep. Ron Klein passed on a run but still has to wrangle with wealthy businessman Patrick Murphy.

New city manager to be introduced at forum Wednesday

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 14, 2011 09:44 AM

Fort Lauderdale’s new city manager will make one of his first community appearances Wednesday morning.

Lee Feldman will speak at the Fort Lauderdale Forum – a monthly gathering that former Mayor Rob Dressler hosts at Broward College downtown. Mayor Jack Seiler will also speak about the long-range visioning process underway for the city.

Feldman started work Monday, previously having been the city manager of Palm Bay and North Miami.

The forum starts at 7:30 a.m. in room 1110 of the FAU/BC Higher Education Complex at 111 E. Las Olas Blvd. Those wishing to attend should RSVP Dressler at DresslerRA@Bellsouth.net.

The Broward League of Cities is asking the Broward County Commission to adopt a different version of the code than the one county commissioners live with.

The city version of a code of ethics would allow city commissioners and council-people to lobby in other City Halls, would allow their spouses to be political lobbyists, and would allow the city officials to accept free meals up to $25 apiece from lobbyists and vendors seeking their votes.

Obama courts Florida voters, raises campaign cash

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 13, 2011 09:15 PM

With a quick visit to South Florida on Monday, President Barack Obama focused on two critical elements in his 2012 re-election effort – campaign money and Florida’s 29 electoral votes.

“The work’s not done. For all the progress we’ve made, our work is not complete. We’re not at the summit. We’re just part way up the mountain. There is more to do,” Obama told about 900 paying fans at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

The president’s official and campaign events Monday and Tuesday are intermingled with his overriding goal: re-election. He held a North Carolina event on the economy. And after overnighting in the Miami area – the Obama camp wouldn’t say where – he heads Tuesday morning to Puerto Rico, a stop with big political significance in Florida.

Florida, which will award 29 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency next year, is the biggest swing state in the country. Monday’s trip was the president’s third Florida visit this year.

“If we win Florida again, it’s over,” said Kirk Wagar, Obama’s Florida finance director. In her role as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, introduced Obama at the Arsht Center. “We are going to send President Obama back to the White House right through Florida.”

Residents of Puerto Rico, who are getting their first official presidential visit in 50 years, can’t vote in presidential elections. But more Puerto Ricans live in the mainland U.S. than on the island – and they’re a potentially important constituency, especially in the Sunshine State, where their population has exploded in Central Florida’s Interstate 4 corridor.

“That’s the fastest growing part of the state, and Puerto Ricans are the fastest growing segment along the I-4 corridor. Most campaign consultants will tell you that’s where Florida will be won or lost,” said Barry University political scientist Sean Foreman.

Contrary to many people’s perceptions of Hispanic voters as overwhelmingly Republican, Palm Beach County’s state Democratic committeeman, John Ramos, said Obama can win many votes from his fellow Puerto Ricans.

Even Democrats concede the biggest obstacle to the president’s re-election is the anemic state of the economy. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last week reported that disapproval over his handling of the economy is at a record high, with nine in 10 people giving a poor rating, and people by a 2-to-1 margin saying the country is on the wrong track.

“It’s going to be an enormously difficult year for everybody because the economy is not coming back as fast as people wanted it to,” said Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith in a weekend interview at the party’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Hollywood.

Smith said he thinks there are enough signs of improvement that people will see a favorable direction in the economy and credit the president in November 2012. “People have to have a sense that we’re going in the right direction. They’re not concerned about the snapshot, they’re going to want to see the video.”

State Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, a Republican who represents Broward and Palm Beach counties, said the economy is “a huge challenge for the Obama administration.” And Ryan Tronovitch, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said “millions remain out of work and are beginning to realize that the only job our president is concerned about is his own.”

Obama said he’s spent much of his presidency trying to heal the economy. “We’ve made enormous strides,” he said, acknowledging “we’ve got so much more work to do on our economy.”

The president said he understands many voters, including some Democrats in the crowd, are frustrated that change hasn’t come faster. But he cited a list of accomplishments, including the first Latina on the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, reform of the financial system, scaling back the war in Iraq and refocusing the war in Afghanistan.

“In the meantime we’ve dealt with a few other things like pirates, and pandemic, and oil spills. So there were a few other things that kept us occupied,” he said.

He started with a $10,000 per person reception for about 80 people at the Miami Beach home of Steven and Dorothea Green. Green is a former Samsonite luggage executive and ambassador to Singapore under President Bill Clinton. To get there, Obama’s motorcade blocked traffic between Miami International Airport and Miami Beach during a rainy rush hour.

He then held the event for the masses at the Arsht Center, where tickets ranged from $44 for young Democrats to $2,500 for VIPs.

Later, another 40 to 50 people had dinner with the president at the Miami home of Dr. J.P. and Maggie Austin. The cost: $35,800 a person.

The events are part of the Obama campaign’s attempt to raise $60 million by the end of June, and $750 million to $1 billion for the president’s re-election effort.

Aides declined to say how much the campaign raised Monday. Beyond money, the visit generated news coverage and allowed the president to fire up activists that could form the nucleus of next year’s campign.

“I know you’re a little disappointed about the Heat,” former Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning said during his warm-up speech. “Now it’s time for us to redirect our attention toward our new team, and that’s the Obama campaign.”

Barack Obama rallies supporters in South Florida

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 13, 2011 08:34 PM

President Barack Obama just delivered a 31-minuted campaign speech at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.Excerpts:

“I didn’t run for president just to be president. I ran for president to do big things, to do hard things….

“We didn’t know how steep that climb [it] was going to be because what we now know is we were already in the midst of what turned out to be the worst recession since the Great Depression…. All the challenges that ordinary families, working families, middle class families were feeling for years were suddenly compounded. Folks were losing their jobs, losing their homes, didn’t know what the future would hold….

“We’ve spent the last two and a half years trying to heal this Trying to mend what was broke…. We’ve made enormous strides. With the help of you we have made enormous strides….

“An economy that was contracting is now growing. An economy that was shedding millions of jobs we’ve seen over 2 million jobs created in the last 15 months in the private sector….

“Some of the decisions that we made were not popular. Everybody acts now like that was easy. Think about it. Just think about the U.S. auto industry…. We were on the verge of the liquidation of two of the three big automakers in the United States, Chrysler and GM.

“There’s been some revisionist history offered lately” suggesting that the auto bailout wasn’t needed. If that had happened, Obama said, 1 million people in the automobile supply chain would have lost jobs.

He touted a list of accomplishments, including the first Latina on the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, reform of the financial system, scaling back the war in Iraq and refocusing the war in Afghanistan.

“In the meantime we’ve dealt with a few other things like pirates, and pandemic, and oil spills. So there were a few other things that kept us occupied.

“I describe all this not for us to be complacent, but for all of us to remember that as hard as these battles have been, as much resistance as we got, as much as the political debate has been distorted at times, that our basic premise, the idea that when we put our minds to it, there’s nothing that America can’t do. That’s been proven. That’s been proven out. We have the evidence. We’ve brought about amazing change over the last two and a half years.”

At that point, two people at the back of the auditorium shouted out that he needed to “keep your promise. Stop AIDS now.” They were drowned out by audience chants of “O-bam-a.”

“Here’s the thing. Reason we’re here. The work’s not done. For all the progress we’ve made, our work is not complete. We’re not at the summit. We’re just partway up the mountain. There is more to do. We still don’t have the kind of energy policy that America needs.”

“We’ve got so much more work to do on our economy….

“We can bring down our deficit and we can work down our debt and we can do it the way families across America do it” – by prioritizing.

“The other side say you know we can just cut and cut and cut and cut” and have tax breaks.
Obama said he doesn’t want a tax break if it means seniors will have to pay more for Medicare and schools suffer.

“That’s what this campaign is going to be about: values.”

He said he understands many Democrats, including those in the crowd, might be frustrated at the slow pace of change.

“I never said this was going to be easy. This is democracy. It’s a big country and a diverse country and our political process is messy. And you don’t always get 100 percent of what you want. And you make compromises. That’s how the system was designed. But what I hope all of you still feel is that for all the frustrations, for all the setbacks, for all the occasional stumbles, that what motivates us, what we most deeply cherish, that’s still within reach. That it’s still possible to bring about extraordinary change. That its still possible to make sure that the America we pass down to our kids and grandkids is a better America than the one we inherited.”

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 13, 2011 07:47 PM

Several warm up speakers have gone on stage to warm up about 900 paying fans at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, where President Barack Obama is holding a campaign fundraiser.

The most popular, by audience applause, was former Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning.

“I know you’re a little disappointed about the Heat,” Mourning said. “Now it’s time for us to redirect our attention toward our new team, and that’s the Obama campaign.

“He’s been a fantastic president and an amazing leader for all of us.

“This is going to be a very, very tough fight ahead of us. The Republicans will want to win the White House back. They will work hard to try to get it….

“President Obama is going to be counting on each and every one of us….

“It’s going to take some teamwork, some dedication, and maybe a little sweat. And living in Miami we’re no stranger to sweat here….

“When I played for the Miami Heat we won some really big games. We always fed off the crowd. The crowd gave us the energy to go out and compete as hard as we could…. There is nothing like playing in front of a loud and exciting crowd for an important game. This is our game. The challenge is ahead of us.”

Mourning said “each and every one of you are teammates” in the re-election effort. “We’re going to get it done for the president in 2012.”

The crowd paid between $44 – for young Democrats – to $2,500 for VIP seats.

He started with a $10,000 per person reception for 80 to 100 people at the Miami Beach home of Steven and Dorothea Green. Green is a former Samsonite luggage executive and ambassador to Singapore under President Bill Clinton. To get there, his motorcade blocked traffic during a rainy rush hour between Miami International Airport and Miami Beach.

Later another 40 to 50 people are scheduled to have dinner with the president at the at the Miami home of Dr. J.P. and Maggie Austin. The meal cost $35,800 a person.

The money raising is part of the Obama campaign’s attempt to raise $60 million by the end of June, and $750 million to $1 billion for the president’s re-election effort. Campaign aides declined to say how much the Obama Victory Fund raised Monday.

Panthers ask for county's help renovating arena

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 13, 2011 06:20 PM

The Florida Panthers hockey team is asking for a multi-million-dollar renovation of Broward County’s arena on the edge of the Everglades, arguing that the work is essential so the arena can attract more fans and concerts.

Broward County owns the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and might be asked to help pay for the re-do, a set of six upgrades that total $14 million to $15 million. Panthers owners haven’t said how it would be paid for. But they pitched a remake that relied on public financing, Broward County Commissioner Lois Wexler said.

The $185 million arena, which opened in 1998, was built with public financing for then-Panthers-owner H. Wayne Huizenga. Broward leaders were sold on the controversial arena deal with promises that profits would return to the taxpayers. That happened only once, county officials said.

Now the team’s top management is paying private visits to Broward’s nine commissioners to tell them that the arena needs: new digital signs indoors and out, a new center-hung scoreboard where sponsorships could be sold, a 700-seat members-only club for patrons who pay for an annual pass to all events, with food, drinks and parking included, and where they could watch events; a “patio’’ bar amidst the lower level seats where fans could stand and drink a beer while watching the show or game; smaller suites or “opera boxes’’ that seat four or maybe six visitors instead of the 15 to 20 the larger suites accommodate now; and a new curtain system that would allow the top level to be blacked out so that smaller concerts could be booked without concern that the huge arena would look empty.

The county’s newly required lobbying logs reveal that in two of the meetings, U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, was present. Mayor Sue Gunzburger and Commissiner Chip LaMarca said he told them he supports the renovation.

The hockey arena draws tens of thousands to its concerts, shows and Panthers games each year. Big time acts including Madonna and U2 have played at the arena. But at its relatively young age of 13, it’s old in arena terms and needs work, says Michael Yormark, president of the Panthers and its parent company, arena operator Sunrise Sports and Entertainment (SSE).

“It’s been maintained very, very well,’’ Yormark said Monday. “But there’ve been a lot of new buildings that’ve been built during that time.’’

The arena sits in Wexler’s district, and Yormark and Panthers majority owner Cliff Viner, along with lobbyist John Milledge, went to her first. She said the team “laid out a beautiful book of all kinds of absolutely necessary improvements’’ that would create a better experience for visitors and would prompt them to spend more money there.

But when they told her how they thought it should be paid for, she was vehemently opposed. Wexler said she didn’t feel comfortable repeating the team’s idea; she told Yormark to “go back to the drawing board.’’

“Yes, it involved public funds, and it was unacceptable to me, their proposal. And I very clearly and loudly said it,’’ Wexler said Monday.

County commissioners who met with the Panthers had mixed reactions, but at least four were tantalized.

“The gut reaction is if it’s really going to make money and make money sooner, why wouldn’t I want that?’’ said Commissioner Ilene Lieberman.

Commissioner Dale Holness said “if there’s an opportunity for the public to win, then yes,’’ he is interested.

LaMarca said he was told the county would almost immediately see profits, and also said team officials mentioned the county could levy another one-cent hotel bed tax to pay for the improvements. County tourism chief Nicki Grossman said she and her Tourist Development Council oppose the tax increase.

Yormark said West was already in County Hall and asked if he could sit in on LaMarca’s meeting. He then walked in Gunzburger’s office to talk to her.

West said in a written statement that he supports "looking into the expansion of the Bank Atlantic Center because I see this as an opportunity to bring more revenue into the county as well as bring more jobs to South Florida.”

Over the years, the arena has been renovated numerous times without public participation, team spokesman Matt Sacco said.

But the county has helped out, as well. In 2006, Broward gave SSE a $9.5 million loan, and about $5 million of it was used to renovate the arena three years ago. Just last year, Broward loaned the team $7.5 million.

Yormark said the team is not looking to refinance debt payments to Broward.

“Since the building opened in 1998, we’ve never not paid our debt service, we’ve never been late, we’ve never been delinquent,’’ he said. “We’ve made every payment we’re obligated to make and will continue to.’’

Developer Goldstrom: I gave Lauderdale's Hutchinson cash and appliances

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 13, 2011 05:32 PM

My colleague Paula McMahon has this story tonight:

Former Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Cindi Hutchinson received a lot more from a developer than the $14,000 in "thank you" gifts that she is criminally charged with accepting, according to a sworn statement from the developer.

Steven Goldstrom, who admitted he initially lied to investigators, said under oath he also gave Hutchinson thousands in cash and a brand new stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer while she was in office, according to court documents obtained by the Sun Sentinel.

Goldstrom also said he arranged for a major air-conditioning overhaul -- at Hutchinson's suggestion -- at the Fort Lauderdale Woman's Club where she was a member. The job has an estimated value of about $30,000 and was paid for by Goldstrom and his then-business partner Glenn Wright's development company, according to court records and a 2006 newsletter article Hutchinson wrote.

In January, Hutchinson, 54, was charged with 11 public corruption counts, accused of accepting home improvements and other services from Goldstrom, one of the developers who built the La Preserve and Georgian Oaks developments in the south Fort Lauderdale district she represented. Prosecutors say Hutchinson voted in favor of an unusual zoning change for Goldstrom and Wright's projects, and was rewarded with gifts. Hutchinson never revealed that she received any benefits, as required by law, prosecutors said in court records.

When prosecutors filed charges against Hutchinson, they also charged Goldstrom, 54, with perjury for lying to investigators when first questioned. Goldstrom agreed to give another sworn statement in the hope, he said, that prosecutors would reduce the charge against him or offer him a lesser punishment. He pleaded not guilty to the perjury count and his case is unlikely to be heard until Hutchinson's is resolved. Her next court date is Aug. 11. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Hutchinson may not be criminally charged with receiving any additional items because the time limit to file new charges appears to have expired before March 10, when Goldstrom gave his follow-up statement. But prosecutors could ask a judge to let them present evidence of the alleged gifts if the case goes to trial.

Prosecutors did not reply to a a request for comment. Hutchinson's lawyer told the Sun Sentinel any items or services offered to his client were tokens of friendship---not payback.

"Any benefits she got from Steve Goldstrom were based on friendship and had nothing to do with her position as a commissioner," defense attorney Bruce Udolf said. "And anything he had an interest in that she voted for had occurred years earlier."

Goldstrom appeared to bolster that stance, telling prosecutors "If you're asking me if because she was a commissioner and I wanted something in return, did I do this? The answer would be no."

In his March deposition, Goldstrom told prosecutor Spencer Multack from the Broward State Attorney's Office and Broward Sheriff's Detective Michael Johnston that he first met Hutchinson when he was pitching his and Wright's controversial proposal to build the high-end homes.

After Hutchinson voted for the zoning change and work began, Goldstrom said they kept in contact and Hutchinson told him she earned only about $35,000 a year and was having money problems.

The then-commissioner also reportedly dropped hints about her older home, saying that her floors were "all beat up" and he sent over a subcontractor to install new flooring and the development company picked up the tab, he said. Then she said she needed a new toilet installed and the developers paid for someone to do that, Goldstrom said.

"Would you say … it was somewhat agreed to or implicit that she wouldn't have to pay a dime for any of this help?" Multack asked.

"It would seem that way … I mean, yes," Goldstrom said, according to the transcript.

Starting in 2005, Goldstrom said he sent over a steady stream of subcontractors to do jobs for Hutchinson, including planting ficus trees, doing "marble work" in a barbecue area at the rear of her home and a $4,000 paver installation. All of it was paid for by the development company and Hutchinson never objected, Goldstrom and others said under oath.

"She had implied to me that she had some financial problems, you know…," Goldstrom said. "And I said, well, you know I'll take care of you and I'll throw you some money…"

Goldstrom estimated he gave her "maybe three" separate payments of between $2,000 and $5,000 each. For the exact total, he told prosecutors to look through company records for checks made out to him which he said he then cashed and gave the money to her.

Detectives said Hutchinson lied to them when they went to her house on Sept. 9 to ask about the home improvements. She told them she didn't know any of Wright's associates and didn't mention any of the work the subcontractors did for her. Minutes after they left, her cell phone records showed she called Goldstrom. Goldstrom told prosecutors that she told him there were people "sniffing around at my house" and asked if there were any records of what had been done at her home. "She was concerned," Goldstrom said. "She called me a bunch of times."

Moderate Democrat sees rise of extremes in both parties squeezing out the center

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 13, 2011 08:07 AM

A big reason government doesn’t function well, in Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler’s view, is the hyper partisanship that results from the way state legislative and congressional districts are crafted.

“The people who are able to get in the process and stay in the process for a long period of time are tending to be more extremists. They’re tending to be more liberal or more conservative,” he said. “You are creating safe, secure, extreme seats, and I don’t think that’s healthy.”

It’s a view shared by many political scientists and political leaders in both parties.

The way district lines for state legislatures and congressional districts are created around the country is that the party in power sets up districts that will benefit its candidates.

So, for example, if the Republicans control redistricting, they create districts that take in Republican neighborhoods. What’s left over is territory that leans Democratic.

The result is districts that everyone knows will almost inevitably go to a particular party – and don’t offer true Democratic versus Republican competition on Election Day.

“People are more concerned about winning their primary within their party, whatever party that may be,” Seiler said. “People are more concerned about, I know the district votes Republican so I’ve really just got to win my primary and I win the district.

“So you’re forcing people to go to the extremes to win the primary, and then they generally stay and vote with the extremes to keep their seat.”

“What’s happened with these seats being drawn the way they’re being drawn is the moderates are being squeezed out on both sides,” he said.

Seiler, a moderate Democrat, spent eight years as a state representative from a district that was unusual when he first won – because it was split roughly evenly between Democrats and Republicans.

And he was the only member of the Legislature who voted against every redistricting plan offered by either party in 2002 because he didn’t like either side’s attempts to rig the results.

The problem of the hyper partisan districts “isn’t a Republican problem this is a Republican and a Democratic problem.”

June 12, 2011

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 12, 2011 09:40 AM

The numbers are proof positive. Broward and Palm Beach counties are about to lose some of their political muscle.

And that’s not all. Residents throughout the region could find themselves represented by far-away politicians they’ve never voted for and may never even have heard of.

Both are direct results of something that’s little known outside political circles – but affects everyone.

“It doesn’t even the playing field. It doesn’t level the playing field. It literally is the playing field,” said state Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach. “It’s going to determine how they’re represented, who they’re represented by and everything else. It is the be-all and end-all of Florida politics.”

The highly technical, intensely political ritual takes place every 10 years as population changes uncovered in the most recent Census are used to create new districts for Florida senators, state representatives and members of Congress.

Slade O’Brien, a Boca Raton Republican who has managed campaigns for candidates and issues, said it’s critical to everyone in the state.

“The way the districts are drawn has a tremendous outcome on who becomes your elected official,” said O’Brien, who on Monday becomes Florida director of the free market group Americans for Prosperity. “Do I think the average person on the street gets it? No.”

Cities, towns, villages, school boards and county commissions with district elections must also redraw the boundaries before the 2012 elections. Their efforts often aren’t intense Democrat versus Republican battles, but are still political.

DIMINISHED CLOUT

This time, the rest of Florida is going to gain clout at the expense of Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The reason is simple, inescapable – and much more pronounced in Broward County, where the population grew 8 percent since the 2000 Census, than in Palm Beach County, which grew 17 percent. Statewide, population is up 18 percent.

Florida House, state Senate and U.S. Congress districts have to be equal size. When 40 state Senate districts, for example, are spread across the state, the result is fewer in South Florida.

Former Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller, D-Cooper City, said the numbers indicate Broward and Miami-Dade counties could each lose a seat in the state House. State Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, said Palm Beach County could lose part of a House seat.

The numbers could easily add up to one less South Florida seat in the State Senate.

And even though Florida will gain two congressional seats at the expense of other states, faster growing parts of the state will gain at South Florida’s expense.

“That has to affect our clout,” Geller said. He said plenty of issues – such as funding for schools in the state’s higher-cost urban counties or dredging of ports in coastal communities – are affected by the numbers of legislators from South Florida.

Losing a seat “diminishes our clout in Tallahassee as a county,” said Neil Schiller, of Boca Raton, a Palm Beach County political consultant who practices law with Becker & Poliakoff.

MAP GAMES

Districts have always been drawn to favor the party in power. And computer programs allowing matches of Census results with past voting patterns makes it easier than ever for the majority party to create districts that favor its candidates.

Hager said some of the boundaries “are not necessarily obvious.” Geller was more blunt: “When you do that, the voters are pretty much unable to tell who their legislators are.”

The crazy quilt pattern of results shows all over South Florida.

State Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto’s district sprawls from east of Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County to the Gulf of Mexico. State Rep. Matt Hudson’s district is based in southwest Florida’s Collier County – and takes in a swath of the Everglades to connect with territory in Southwest Broward.

State Rep. Martin Kiar’s district also runs through the Everglades – to connect two separate sections of Broward County, Parkland in the northwest and Weston in the far west.

State Rep. George Moraitis’ district hugs the east coast of Broward where he represents 78 voting precincts – and crosses the Broward-Palm Beach County line to take in four Boca Raton precincts. Hager’s neighboring district takes in 85 mostly coastal voting precincts in South Palm Beach County – and crosses into Broward to pick up eight Deerfield Beach precincts.

Besides making it difficult for voters to know who represents them, Ring said carved up communities can have another effect.

Northwest Broward County is split among four congressional districts. The result: “The numbers will never allow someone from northwest Broward County to win a congressional seat. That’s not fair.”

(Ring considered running in a special congressional election in 2010. He said he’s not considering Congress now and plans to run for re-election.)

Voters passed state Constitutional amendments in 2010 to make new districts follow more boundaries familiar to everyday people, such as county and city lines, and focus less on protecting incumbents and on the political whims of the people drawing the maps.

But no one knows if they’ll have any effect; everyone in politics says the issue will end up decided in the courts. “It’ll enrich a lot of lawyers,” said political scientist Kevin Hill of Florida International University.

Hill said the creation of districts that make it hard for voters to influence who represents them can increase public cynicism. “It’s the sickening feeling that you get sometimes that politicians are choosing their voters and not the other way around.”

Weinergate distracts Democrats from positive message

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 11, 2011 08:20 PM

Instead, much of the conversation in the lobby of the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa focused on the topic that’s dominated political news in the last two weeks: New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, sender of sexually themed messages and pictures on Twitter and Facebook.

Democrats wanted to talk about their hopes – from state party Chairman Rod Smith to state Rep. Darren Soto of Orlando they used the word “optimistic” — but TV cameras massed to record U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, read her statement calling for her colleague’s resignation.

And questions for U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, focused on Weiner, not his attempts to recruit challengers for Republican members of Congress..

When asked about Weiner, Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel’s first reaction was a sigh and a grimace.

“When the big issue should be jobs, the big story is about Twitter,” said former U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton.

Fueling the calls for Weiner’s resignation, Siegel said, “people wanting to get rid of the distraction and get back to talking about issues.” By remaining in office “he is undermining the things that are important to him.”

Mike Moskowitz, Broward’s state Democratic committeeman and a major party fundraiser, said he thinks any political damage to Democrats is fleeting.

“People have problems. Is that a reflection on the Republican Party as a whole or the Democratic Party as a whole? Absolutely not,” he said. “It’s a reflection of the failings of human nature, not a reflection on any political party.”

Still, Amanda Fleites, secretary of the Palm Beach County Democratic Hispanic Caucus and executive vice president of the county’s Young Democrats, it isn’t helping her party. “It is a distraction since we’re having a discussion on Anthony Weiner’s lewd pictures.”

And Fleites lamented the attention it’s getting, focusing blame on television talking heads for fueling the topic out of a need to fill air time.

Most Democratic leaders gathered for the party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner followed Wasserman Schultz’ lead and said Weiner must go. Among them Klein, Siegel, and unsuccessful 2010 gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink, and Mark Alan Siegel.

“Absolutely. He’s an embarrassment to the American people,” Sink said.,

Smith, the state chairman, and Moskowitz, said they weren’t prepared to call for Weiner to resign.

“It is very personal,” Moskowitz said. “I don’t want to be part of the chorus that now wants to jump on peoples’ backs.”

Both Siegel and Moskowitz know Weiner. When Weiner was a candidate for New York mayor a few years ago, Moskowitz held a fundraiser for his campaign at his Parkland home. When Siegel needed a replacement speaker for the Palm Beach County Democratic Party’s fundraising dinner last November, Weiner stepped in.

“It is always terrible to see a very valuable guy catch fire and explode,” Seigel said.

Wasserman Schultz calls on Anthony Weiner to resign

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 11, 2011 02:04 PM

Updated at 6:35 p.m. and 6:56 p.m.

Decrying his “indefensible” behavior in what she termed a “sordid affair,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, on Saturday joined the voices calling on U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., to resign.

Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, was among a trio of prominent Democrats to publicly call on Weiner to quit in the aftermath of the scandal over his sending sexually tinged messages and pictures to a variety of women via Facebook and Twitter.

"It is with great disappointment that I call on Representative Anthony Weiner to resign,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement issued by the Democratic National Committee, which she has led since the beginning of May. She’s President Barack Obama’s representative as DNC chairwoman.

“The behavior he has exhibited is indefensible and Representative Weiner's continued service in Congress is untenable.

“This sordid affair has become an unacceptable distraction for Representative Weiner, his family, his constituents and the House – and for the good of all, he should step aside and address those things that should be most important: his and his family's well-being."

A few hours after issuing the statement, she read it for TV cameras and a half-dozen reporters before speaking at the Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Hollywood. She spoke for 20 seconds and declined to answer questions, saying she wanted to get back to her constituents.

After reporters followed Wasserman Schultz, a couple of aides and a couple of police officers providing security to an elevator, she answered questions on other issues. Video of the gaggle outside the elevator below, on the continuation.

New Fort Lauderdale manager touts civic activism, City Hall shakeup

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 11, 2011 01:33 PM

Neighborhoods can expect more say in development. Civic activism will be back in vogue. Complaints about a top-heavy bureaucracy will be addressed. A watchdog will monitor government performance.

Lee Feldman starts work Monday as city manager and is bringing an agenda far different from that of his predecessor, George Gretsas. While credited with keeping tax rates stable and working to clean up neighborhoods, Gretsas was oft viewed as a control freak who iced out the public and built an empire at City Hall.

City commissioners who chose Feldman from 90 applicants say they viewed him as a low-key consensus-builder. He talks a lot about openness in government and the importance of community involvement.

“We need to move away from managing cities and start building communities,” Feldman said. “We need to stop thinking of our citizens as customers and start thinking of them again as neighbors.”

Feldman, 48, has been the city manager of Palm Bay and North Miami during a 25-year government career. He will be paid $199,000 a year to oversee Fort Lauderdale government's 2,500 employees and $611 million budget.

He’s won early applause from community leaders who’ve met him.

“He is a professional fellow who is respectful of the community and will bring that culture to the city staff,” said Keith Cobb, the former head of the city budget advisory board and chairman of the search committee that recommended finalists to the commission.

Feldman, pictured here with his wife in a photo by Art Seitz, takes over at a time when the city faces another tight budget year because the property tax roll continues to decline. For the two years, the city has tapped cash reserves to help balance its budget without major spending cuts or tax hikes.

Feldman said preparing an initial budget for 2012 by the end of June is a priority. He wants to hold property taxes stable again, but said he did not know if there would have to be cuts in staff or services.

During his interviews with commissioners, he agreed with criticism from the budget advisory board that the city must be cautious about using reserves to balance the budget. He also agreed Fort Lauderdale has too many departments.

A major shakeup begins this week.

Feldman is reorganizing City Hall to focus on five key missions – public safety, neighborhood enhancement, business development, infrastructure and public places.

The police chief and fire chief will report directly to him. That’s a shift away from one of Gretsas’ controversial decisions. Gretsas angered the police union and the Police Department’s top brass when he assigned a close aide to watch over the force for him.

“Every community puts public safety out as a core service, and a police chief and fire chief need direct, unfiltered access because of the very nature of what they do,” Feldman said.

The number of high-level aides that surround the city manager will be cut from six to four. One assistant will be assigned to spearhead neighborhood interaction while another will be in charge of constantly measuring how well city agencies perform their jobs.

Many of Gretsas’ top aides left after his departure last summer so Feldman has a free hand to change upper management.

While Gretsas was criticized for surrounding himself with people who followed him from New York, Feldman vowed there will be no “Palm Bay mafia” but added he knows professionals around the country that he might seek out.

Discontent among neighborhoods and citizen advisory boards grew under Gretsas, and Feldman’s outreach plans are a step back to the city’s tradition of resident activism rooted in its dozens of neighborhood associations and boards that give advice on everything from police brutality complaints to the rules on short-term rentals.

Gretsas was accused of dismissing the work of advisory boards and of ordering developers not to go directly to neighborhoods with their plans but to talk to him first.

Feldman is the opposite. He wants developers to work closely with surrounding residents and said the city may want to consider requiring that in its land-development rules.

“Neighborhoods need to be brought in early in the process as collaborators so that projects are really designed with their input from day one,” Feldman said.

Feldman also plans to create a social media presence for the city to encourage citizen involvement. He wants to host regular town hall forums – including some where people can call in so they don’t need to leave home to be involved. One phone-in town hall in Palm Bay drew 2,000 residents.

He wants more transparency and said he would like to put the city’s “checkbook” of spending online like he did in Palm Bay.

“The bottom line is people just do not trust government and part of the reason is because they are not engaged in their government,” he said. “We’ve lost a sense of community.”

Activists who’ve been fighting about development plans hope Feldman follows through with the promises.

“There should be greater communication between the neighborhoods, the developers, businesses and the city staff,” said Mary Fertig, a leader of the Idlewyld neighborhood active in discussions about redeveloping the Bahia Mar hotel-marina complex and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. “A more defined process for neighborhood involvement will help everyone.”

June 10, 2011

Meatballs -- Fort Lauderdale cop?

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 10, 2011 04:50 PM

Meatballs is trying to make a comeback in law enforcement.

Joe "Meatballs" Alu – the one-time bodyguard of Ponzi-schemer Scott Rothstein’s wife – has applied to be a cop in Fort Lauderdale. Police Department spokesman Travis Mandell confirmed that Alu has applied to join the force but said he has not been hired.

Alu appeared frequently alongside Kim Rothstein as the Rothstein scandal exploded in 2009. Often an outspoken defender of the once powerful downtown lawyer, Alu was easily recognized by his tattooed biceps bulging beneath a Harley-Davidson T-shirt.

Alu had been a longtime Plantation police officer when he was hired by the Rothsteins. Alu and two colleagues became police heroes when they were injured in 1995 in a fireball that killed two teenage girls.

LXR responds to questions about Bahia Mar development

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 10, 2011 04:04 PM

Developers behind the proposed overhaul of the Bahia Mar hotel-marina complex are striking back against a last-minute e-mail that delayed a vote this week at City Hall.

Peter Henn of LXR Resorts wrote city commissioners Friday in response to concerns raised by Rochelle Golub, a former member of the city planning board and current member of the charter review board. Golub favored the redevelopment on the planning board but says she would have opposed it because of new questions she has.

Golub said she was concerned that the city’s approval of the design plans could force it to agree to the 100-year terms even though the leases have not been negotiated.

She challenged whether the city is guaranteed the new hotel will be a Waldorf Astoria or a five-star brand and even if LXR Resorts would be involved. She wanted to know what assurances the city would have about the financial wherewithal of the investors. She also re-raised concerns about the 28 luxury condos planned for the 290-room hotel and the extent of guarantees to the boat show.

Henn said the city would not be obligated to sign a lease once it approves the design plans. He also maintained that despite multiple business names, LXR’s parent -- the Blackstone Group -- is the legal entity behind the project.

Henn said LXR intends for the new hotel to be a Waldorf Astoria and said the city agreements so far state that the hotel “will be at ‘upper, upscale’ or better under Smith Travel Research (STR) standards, the premier hotel
industry rating standard.”

Henn defends the condos as legal and said the International Boat Show is guaranteed a home.

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 10, 2011 02:39 PM

DEERFIELD BEACH Four candidates qualified this week to run in the July 19 special election to replace suspended Commissioner Sylvia Poitier, while a fifth person has filed as a write-in candidate.

Two of the candidates ran unsuccessfully against Poitier in March: Ben Preston, a retired city fire lieutenant, and former Commissioner Gloria Battle, a human rights consultant.

The other candidates to qualify are Anthony Davis, pastor of the Church of Brotherly Love and a retired Pompano Beach police and code enforcement officer; and Andre Samuels, a site manager for Cornerstone Paving in Miramar.

David Cody, an activist blogger who campaigned for Poitier in the March election, filed as a write-in candidate. By doing so, Cody did not have to pay the filing fees or collect voter signatures.

The winning candidate will serve the remainder of Poitier’s term, which ends in March 2015. However, the winner will have to vacate the seat if Poitier is reinstated – either because she is acquitted of the charges against her or if the charges are dropped.

Poitier was charged in April with five misdemeanor counts of falsifying public records and was suspended by Gov. Rick Scott.

Oakland Park's Boisvenue: We'll take the ethics code as-is

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 10, 2011 01:05 PM

The mayor of Oakland Park, Suzanne Boisvenue, said her city doesn't want a watered-down ethics code, and she was "disappointed'' when she read our story earlier this week about the Broward cities who want one.

The comments came from Gary Resnick, mayor of Wilton Manors, who warned the County Commission on Tuesday that a lot of our finest elected officials would have no choice but to resign if they had to accept the county's code "verbatim.'

That's not the case in Oakland Park. Boisvenue said Oakland Park commissioners voted 5-0 against the Broward League of Cities' version of the ethics code.

"If they don’t like it, they can quit,'' she said of politicians who don't want the county's strict code.

Click here to see how the Broward League of Cities' proposed ethics code differs from the county's.

A key difference: The cities want their elected officials to be able to lobby in other City Halls in Broward, and to let their spouses and office staff do so as well. That was the provision Resnick said is so objectionable that politicians will quit.

"No wonder Broward County is in the trouble we're in,'' Boisvenue said. "I was just blown away when I read it.''

Broward's LaMarca: No need for lobbyists in my office

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 10, 2011 11:22 AM

For those interested, I offer you this audio-video collage of relatively new Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca. Previously, I gave you something similar of Commissioner Barbara Sharief. I'll get to Commissioner Dale Holness next. The three are the freshmen on the County Commission, and they visited the Sun Sentinel -- not together, of course. Mayor Sue Gunzburger came next, but I was out sick that day. Sorry. If anyone else visits us, I'll give you video reports.

You'll see LaMarca talk about a range of things above, including his position on meeting with lobbyists, to wit:

"As soon as I kind of got a feel for the fourth floor I made a policy that we don't meet with lobbyists.''

LaMarca said lobbyists are hired to get a client access to county commissioners. But he said he'll meet with anyone, so lobbyists aren't needed.

He also talked about his campaign fight to kill a dangerous dog law that resulted in many dog death penalties. He talks above about how that issue resounded with Democrats, which was political gold for him because he is a Republican who was challenging a sitting Dem, Ken Keechl.

In wake of Weinergate, Mark Foley opens up about his own sex scandal

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 10, 2011 10:54 AM

Updated at 12:46 p.m. and 2:08 p.m.

As the political and media worlds dissect everything they can about U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner’s online sexual contacts, former South Florida congressman Mark Foley has come forward to discuss the Internet sex scandal that destroyed his career.

“It was horrific behavior. It was wrong. I was wrong. But that’s all I can do is apologize and pray and continue to work on a recovery,” he said Thursday in an interview on Fox News Channel’s Hannity program. “It is regrettable. I embarrassed my family, the staff, my constituents and the House of Representatives that I loved. I loved my job. I loved governing and being a part of the process and I threw it all away. I have no one else to blame, but myself.”

Foley, 56, said he still punishes himself daily.

He represented the Palm Beach County-based 16th Congressional District for almost 12 years until he rocked the political world shortly before the 2006 elections when his sexually laced Internet messages with teens became public.

He resigned, went into alcohol rehabilitation, came out as gay and said he’d been the victim of childhood sexual abuse by a priest.

Then-U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, using the screen name Maf54, exchanged instant messages with congressional pages, who are teenagers living in a dorm while serving in the House and Senate.

The exchanges were uncovered in 2006 by ABC News.

Maf54: You in your boxers, too?
Teen: Nope, just got home. I had a college interview that went late.
Maf54: Well, strip down and get relaxed.

Maf54: What ya wearing?
Teen: tshirt and shorts
Maf54: Love to slip them off of you.

Maf54: Do I make you a little horny?
Teen: A little
Maf54: Cool.

In the last couple of years, he’s been turning up at political events and earlier this year considered running for mayor of West Palm Beach. I've quoted the former congressman discussing Allen West, Robert Wexler, and heated political rhetoric.

He previously discussed his downfall in a 2008 interview with The Associated Press. In the wake of the sex- messaging scandal enveloping Weiner, Foley discussed it for the first time on national television, appearing on pundit Sean Hannity’s program.Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

Foley said this week his behavior “emanated from the sexual abuse I received from a priest” starting at age 11. He said he was afraid to tell anyone, even years later. “I didn’t even go to the self-help book section because I was scared of my political franchise. Didn’t want anybody to see me reaching for something that could give me some understanding of the trauma I suffered as a child.”

Almost five years later, Foley said, fresh scandals can reignite the turmoil of his own scandal. “Anytime there is a scandal it brings back the horrific pain that I caused people that I loved, and there is no excuse for it. So as we go through this journey of life we just have to pray every day that we are going to be a better human being.”

Weiner has said he won’t resign. Foley, by contrast, resigned his seat a day after he came under scrutiny for sending questionable e-mails to a 16-year-old boy and hours after he was confronted with sexually explicit Internet instant messages he exchanged with teens.

Foley always has said he did nothing illegal and that he never had sexual contact with teens. FBI and state investigations were closed without criminal charges.

Foley said “it’s impossible for me to analyze” Weiner. “Whatever it is that’s troubling him … beautiful wife, wonderful family, a great constituency . . . obviously wasn’t enough for either one of us.”

Filing for Fort Lauderdale 2012 elections underway

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 10, 2011 09:00 AM

Fort Lauderdale’s municipal elections are underway, but questions remain about where the candidates will be running.

Mayor Jack Seiler and commissioners Charlotte Rodstrom, Bobby DuBose and Bruce Roberts have all filed for re-election. Commissioner Romney Rogers has picked up papers to run again, but has yet to formally file.

So far, no challengers have stepped forward. Rodstrom is running for her third and last term on the commission while the others are seeking their second term in office.

Looming over the spring 2012 elections is what the four commission districts will look like. Commissioners must redraw the districts in light of new population figures so each is the same size.

City Attorney Harry Stewart has said that the redistricting doesn’t need to be done before the election, but others including Tallahassee government law expert Mark Herron have said otherwise. When the commissioners do redraw the lines, Rogers and DuBose’s districts must shrink whereas Rodstrom and Roberts’ must grow.

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 10, 2011 08:07 AM

With the anemic economy, it’s hard to find much good news for President Obama’s re-election effort.

Earlier this week, a Washington Post-ABC News poll reported that the boost Obama received after the killing of Osama bin Laden is gone – and disapproval of his handling the economy and the deficit is at a record high, with nine in 10 people rating the economy negatively.

Americans said the country is on the wrong track by 2 to 1 and Obama was tied in the poll with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, one of the Republicans seeking his party’s presidential nomination.

“People are still not happy with the economy, and I think that’s a huge challenge for the Obama administration,” said state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, a Republican who represents Broward and Palm Beach counties. And the economy will be the major factor in deciding if Obama is re-elected, she said. “No matter what else is going on, it always is.”

Still, she said, it’s too early know what’s going to happen in the presidential election 17 months from now.

“It’s hard to predict things a year out,” she said. “And 100 things could happen on the federal level between now and January when things really start to heat up.”

For one thing, no one knows who the Republicans will nominate. “We have a field of very talented candidates.”

She doesn’t share the view of some pundits and Republican insiders that the party lacks enough quality candidates.

“I think we have some A game candidates. I just don’t think that they are nationally known right now. What’s an A game candidate? Somebody with a good last name or somebody who is truly talented and has the ability to be president of the United States. I would say an A game person is the latter, and there’s a couple of real good ones in that race.”

Bogdanoff was an early supporter of John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008, but she isn’t saying who she supports for the 2012 nomination – and may never reveal her choice.

“I have somebody I really, really, really like,” she said. “If I could be relevant in helping the person I think is the best, I would do that like I did with John McCain. But I’m going to have a pretty intense race [for re-election] myself. So I’m trying to focus on my campaign first, and then if I can be helpful to someone else I’m not shy about speaking out.”

June 9, 2011

FDLE investigating former Lauderdale Lakes finance chief

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 9, 2011 07:34 PM

Brittany Wallman and Georgia East
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the former finance director of ailing Lauderdale Lakes.

FDLE spokesman Keith Kameg said Thursday the agency’s Miami office has an “active and ongoing investigation’’ into Larry Tibbs, who was fired from his post at the city last fall under accusations he took sick leave money he wasn’t entitled to.

An independent auditor found after he left that Tibbs had “full access’’ to the payroll system and was “able to circumvent the controls.’’ He was accused in the audit of altering personnel records and then paying himself for untaken sick leave and for a bonus he hadn’t earned.

Tibbs, now director of finance for Greenacres, said he was “wrongfully terminated’’ and is fighting it. He’s aware of the FDLE probe but said his argument with the city over the pay is unrelated to the city’s larger troubles. He repaid the city $25,000 last fall.Lauderdale Lakes is crumbling, its finances a wreck, its budget unbalanced to the tune of $9 million. Tibbs left a city that was in financial shambles last fall, and city officials said they still aren’t sure their budget figures are accurate.

Commissioner Eric Haynes said the troubles are “making the city look like a complete bunch of idiots,’’ and he still doesn’t “have total confidence in our finance operation.’’

Tibbs is fielding blame now as part of a team that took city finances to the brink of insolvency.
The scope of the FDLE investigation, though, is unknown for now.

Kameg also said there is not an investigation focused on former City Manager Anita Fain Taylor. Beyond that, he said he could not comment.

An independent auditor -- Harvey, Covington & Thomas (HCT) – unearthed its own revelations about Tibbs and the city’s financial controls last fall. HCT said its review, prompted by the city but stymied by a lack of documents, found that Tibbs overpaid himself $28,851 after manipulating personnel records.

HCT said the city lacked the proper controls to “track the amount paid and detect unusual activities.’’

“We noted that the finance director was able to circumvent the controls over payroll and altered information in the system,’’ the firm reported, recommending reforms.

Tibbs was fired for taking sick leave payments while he was still working for the city. The audit said he personally deleted his sick leave time in the personnel records, then manually entered sick time and had himself paid for it. The audit said he engaged in similar activities to give himself an extra bonus in 2007.

Tibbs said he was doing “trial and error testing’’ of the sick leave records and “I inadvertently deleted my accrual’’ and “had to manually re-enter’’ it. He said another employee was aware of it at the time.

He received the sick-leave payments on the city’s own advice, he said this week. He said he warned the city in April 2010 he was going to leave, which would have triggered a “lump sum payment’’ the city could ill afford. Instead, he agreed to stay on through the budget year, and to slowly receive the payments. Despite all that, he said, his resignation in September wasn’t accepted; he was fired for improperly receiving the payments.

He said he couldn’t check the 2007 bonus, but told the city in a letter last fall that “I am sure it was done in error.’’

Beyond those accusations are the barbs flying in his general direction now as Lauderdale Lakes leaders attempt to assign responsibility for their embarrassing budget disaster.

Tibbs oversaw a finance department that some Lauderdale Lakes officials say raided reserves and other funds to prop up a budget that couldn’t be saved.

Tibbs said he didn’t authorize unorthodox money transfers. But he knew the city was in trouble, and said his boss wouldn’t tell the elected officials.

“I regret that I didn’t go over her head and blow the whistle,’’ Tibbs said this week.

The city asked Broward County Tuesday for a loan to cover $9 million the city owes Broward Sheriff’s Office. County commissioners rejected the request for now, with a majority saying Lauderdale Lakes lacks a believable plan to survive and is just looking for a bail-out from countywide taxpayers.

“There’s an old expression that you have to come to the table with more than your appetite,’’ Broward Commisioner Kristin Jacobs chastised “And it seems to me you’re just sitting there looking hungry.’’

The finance department Tibbs left behind is run now by his former assistant, Latoya Cason.
Tibbs said working for the city was a privilege, one he’d never forget.

Plantation: Keep pricey elections in March

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 9, 2011 02:24 PM

Staff writer Lisa J. Huriash reports:
The Plantation City Council nixed an idea Wednesday night to move their city elections from March to November. The proposal to have voting in the fall to coincide with general county, state and federal elections that bring more voters to the polls was meant to save the city money.

The last November election cost cities an average of 92 cents per vote, officials said. That's compared to the $115,179 Plantation taxpayers shelled out this past March. Only 10 percent of voters showed up, or 8,405 votes – which came to $13.70 per vote.

But city officials said they wanted to keep elections the way they are. It would be too expensive for candidates to run a campaign in November, argued Councilman Ron Jacobs. Moving elections to November ensures incumbents would win, argued Councilman Peter Tingom.

Nonsense, said city activist Dennis Conklin who happens to work for the Supervisor of Elections office registering people to vote.

"Absolutely not true," he said of Tingom's claim. "You can't prove that with any kind of analysis."

Conklin also argued that keeping elections in March helps incumbents – not hurts them. That's because those elections attract people interested in city government – not the masses. Candidates buy CD's from the Supervisor of Elections to know which voters to target with mailings in the March elections. Candidates pay a $10 set-up fee and then spend 25 cents for every 1,000 voters dubbed "Super Voters" who consistently show up at the polls and politicians want to solicit for votes.

If elections were moved to November, candidates would have to campaign to everybody in the city.

"They've got it rigged in March elections that incumbents will win," Conklin said. "And they always talk about the cost to their campaign, not the cost to taxpayers."

About 14 cities out of Broward's 31 cities have switched to November elections, Supervisor of Elections spokeswoman Mary Cooney said.

Karl Rove's political group zings Wasserman Schultz as "Debbie Downer"

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 9, 2011 11:03 AM

Updated 12:08 p.m.

The political group American Crossroads -- founded by Karl Rove, who orchestrated George W. Bush's presidential victories and now pontificates on FOX News -- has a new video out that goes after U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston.

Well-timed e-mail stalled Bahia Mar vote

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 9, 2011 09:00 AM

Developers and neighborhood activists were roundly surprised when the Fort Lauderdale city commissioners delayed a decision this week on redeveloping Bahia Mar.

The reason apparently: a well-timed e-mail from an influential civic activist, Rochelle Golub.

She was a member of the Planning & Zoning Board when it signed off on the Bahia Mar project and now says she likely would have opposed it. She now serves on the charter review board.

The City Commission delayed a final vote on the $250 million design plans Tuesday night at the request of Commissioner Bruce Roberts. Roberts told the Sun Sentinel that he wanted more time to ask questions in light of Golub’s four-page e-mail that arrived that morning.

LXR Resorts has proposed a new five-star Waldorf-Astoria, a renovated Bahia Mar hotel, a waterfront park and a permanent home for the annual International Boat Show. The deal would require the city property to be tied up in leases for the next 100 years. Activists in nearby neighborhoods had negotiated compromises on the plan and largely support it now.

Golub said she was concerned that the city’s approval of the design plans could force it to agree to the 100-year terms even though the leases have not been negotiated.

She challenged whether the city is guaranteed the new hotel will be a Waldorf Astoria or a five-star brand and even if LXR Resorts would be involved. She wanted to know what assurances the city would have about the financial wherewithal of the investors. She also re-raised concerns about the 28 luxury condos planned for the 290-room hotel and the extent of guarantees to the boat show.

On the jump is her e-mail.

My name is Rochelle Golub. I live at 712 Intracoastal Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL. As an attorney, I worked in-house for 15 years with a major hotel and timeshare developer. I served on the Planning and Zoning Board for six year until May 2011 and currently sit on the Charter Revision Board.

I am writing to you today as a concerned citizen. It is my opinion considered opinion that it is premature for the Commission to proceed to the second reading of the proposed Ordinance tonight which, if passed, will replace the SBMHA with a PUD designation and "approved development plan". The record developed at the September 16, 2009 P & Z Board meeting where the PUD application and now defunct site plan were presented speaks for itself, as does my vote. I was one of the four Board members to approve the PUD application, albeit reluctantly as noted in the meeting minutes. However, if the record before the P&Z Board were the same record as the record before the Commission today, I doubt whether I would have voted to approve the PUD application.

Even a cursory review of the record as it stands today leaves the reader confused with more questions than answers about the details of the proposed "approved development plan". There are still important unresolved issues and conflicting assertions and undocumented promises that should be locked down before the proposed site plan is deemed approved and forms the basis for a development agreement and Lease amendments.

Here are some of my questions and observations; I am sure that all of you are asking these same questions and more of your own.

1. Who is the Applicant?
The current Amended and Restated Lease Agreement dated January 4, 1995 is between the City and Rahn Bahia Mar, LTD (the "Lease"). The public records show that in 2004 Rahn Bahia Mar, Ltd, a Florida partnership was merged into Rahn Bahia Mar, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. However, in September 2009, before the P&Z Board , the Applicant was still listed as Rahn Bahia Mar, Ltd. The records show that the current application before the Commission is BRE/Bahia Mar Development, L.L.C. / Bahia Mar Park. This entity has no apparent nexus to the Lessee. While this may just be an administrative matter that could be rectified to the Commission's satisfaction, shouldn't it be fixed before the second reading?

2. Residential Units:
Why should the Commission approve residential units in the proposed PUD rezoning? The current Lease at Article 19.0 Section 1 provides that the Lessee agrees to use the leased premised "as a first class hotel-marina and resort complex, which may include ... offices, apartments, and other kindred and similar businesses." From the context of the Lease and the history of the property, "apartments" refers to transient rentals for the boating community. For example, while the Lease permits the Lessee to sublease certain portions of the marina without the City's approval, there is no similar grant to the Lessee to sublease "apartments". The current SBMHA zoning district, which I believe post-dates the Lease, permits residential units. I believe that many, including me, are confused about the definition of "residential units" as used in the SBMHA zoning description as compared to the claim of right by the Applicant to residential units. As used in the SBMHA, the term was apparently intended to reflect short term transient rental of apartments as permitted in the Lease. Applicant's request for "residential units" in the PUD requires the term to permit long term real property interests vested in consumers through 2111 which they assert are contemplated in the SBMHA.

Is it sufficient reason to use the PUD to change the intended uses for the SBMHA merely because this particular Lessee claims that it needs to "sell" 28 residential units to make the economics of the proposed site plan work? What does the Commission think the value of such long-term residential units is to the City?

If the Commission determines that such "residential units" are valuable to the City and should be permitted in the Bahia Mar PUD, what will the definition of residential units be? One hundred year leases or "apartment rentals"? What are the development rules going to be? How long can a residential unit lease be? Who is the lessor? What are the rights and obligations of the residential unit lessee? What are the liabilities to the City? How will risk be apportioned and mitigated? These details should be worked out before an Ordinance is past to permit a PUD with "28 residential units" -- especially as this concept appears to be precedent-setting.

Adding to the confusion about residential units and a mandatory extension of the Lease to 2111 (see discussion of Condition 1 below) is Charles Seiman's statement to the P&Z Board in the minutes of the September 16, 2009 meeting that the proposed PUD and site plan can be completed under the current Lease whether or not additional terms and conditions are added to the Lease. The Lease was intentionally not made a part of the P&Z record. There was no reason to question Seiman’s statement at the time. This example of the shifting position of Applicant further highlights the need to make sure the details are addressed now.

3. Conditions to approval of PUD.
There are currently 30 conditions to the approval of the PUD rezoning. DRC is still reviewing and making comments. You are still reviewing the details of the Application. The Applicant is still meeting with neighborhood groups and the Boat Show owners. My reading of many of the conditions show them to be dangerously vague making the drafting of the development agreement and any lease revisions a mine field for the City. Is the Commission comfortable with the wording of the current conditions and the timing of a second reading of a work in progress? Is the Commission comfortable that it will have no control of phasing?
More specifically, I make the following observations about the Conditions of Approval as currently drafted:
• 1(1) and (2): These subsections of Condition 1 require the Commission to amend the current Lease and to extend the current Lease to 2111. Is the Commission certain that such an extension is in the best interest of the City? What is the benefit to the City? If the Applicant takes the position that it will not undertake to improve the Bahia Mar site absent a Lease extension through 2111 and the Commission determines that such an extension is not in the best interest of the City, then the PUD rezoning is moot!
By approving the Ordinance on second reading, the Commission is obligated to extend the Lease through 2111. It appears from the record that the only reason Applicant demands an extension of the Lease from 2062 to 2111 is to heighten the perceived value of the residential units offered to consumers. Applicant has stated it needs the residential units to make the development work economically. This seems contradictory to its claims of financial wherewithal. And, outside of Applicant's assertions, there is no evidence that the inclusion of deed or long-term leased residential units in a hotel development creates enhanced financial stability for the developer. Does the Commission believe that the only way to develop the property is with residential units? Is Applicants’ claim of financial need a good enough reason to extend the current Lease beyond 2062?
It makes one wonder whether Rahn Bahia Mar, LLC ever intend to honor its obligations under the terms of the Lease to operate and maintain the property as a first class hotel and marina through 2062? Is the Commission comfortable that it can ensure that public purposes will be served by the proposed site plan through 2111 and overcome the conclusion that the mandatory lease extension is all about creating perceived value for "residential units"?

• 1 (after insert of new (6) and (7). What does this mean? How will it practically be enforced if you adopt the "plain meaning" of the words? Once the PUD is approved and construction commences, what is the penalty for Lessee failing to host the Boat Show?

• 2. It is interesting that a small private event (2-350 people) at the wedding pavilion can shut down public access to the Park for 25 calendar days and have sound amplification. There is no definition of "calendar days" other than that they do not include the Boat Show or Boat Parade. What about holidays? Is the third paragraph about the wedding pavilion contradictory to the second paragraph with respect to limitation of public access?

• 3. Should the Beach Community Center be available to the public for purposes other than regularly scheduled neighborhood association meetings?

• 7. Why does the list of permitted uses in the Bahia Mar PUD include such uses as a movie theater or performing arts theater? Does the inclusion of such uses affect the parking and traffic analysis? Why is a bed and breakfast dwelling included?

• 10. Who sets the fees for slip rentals? Are there caps?

• 12. This condition gives Applicant unfettered control over the order of development and the timing of the completion of public improvements. Does the Commission want input to the order in which the phases are developed? It is noted that at the P&Z Board hearing, Applicant did not reserve this right to control phasing.

In the discussion of the phases, where is the renovation of the Bahia Mar Hotel which was listed as part of the PUD/site plan development?

• 14. This language makes the issuance of a CO for the commercial buildings mandatory and not discretionary with the City if the Applicant fails to complete the public improvements. Is this loss of leverage in the City’s best interest?

• 18. Does the Commission wish to provide the City Attorney with any other guidance with respect to valet parking agreements? Does the Commission desire to cap self-parking fees to use the park and public improvements?

• 24. It is interesting to note that this condition was drafted as if the lease extension through 2111 was at the discretion of the Commission. Yet Condition 1 makes the lease extension a mandatory requirement for PUD approval.

• 27. Perhaps it should also be stated that no additions outside the footprints of the approved buildings can be built in the PUD.

4. Who is the "well capitalized investor" and what kind of financial assurances will be provided?

The vacant Trump Tower on Fort Lauderdale Beach should remind us every day of putting faith in a famous name and not paying sufficient attention to the potential risks of failure of major development undertakings. And what about the major renovation and new garage approved for the old Holiday Inn on Sunrise? As noted above, the Applicant is not Blackstone or LXR or the franchisor of the Waldorf Astoria flag. Yet, Applicant keeps implying that those deep pockets are going to be responsible for the Bahia Mar redevelopment. When specifically asked about what financing was in place for the proposed PUD site plan, Applicant's representatives have stated that they will still need to seek financing once the PUD is approved. Rosy pictures have been painted about the "well capitalized investor" - but who and where is he or she? Is this just another promise to get the PUD approved?

5. Hotel standards.
Throughout the PUD application process, Applicant has touted the proposed hotel as a Waldorf Astoria. Nonetheless, the hotels in the PUD are described as "existing" and "luxury". Is the Commission satisfied with that description? Should standards of luxury be determined before the adoption of the PUD? Should concessions about room rates and room blocks for the Boat Show and other City events be established before the PUD is read for the second time?

6. Bahia Mar.
At the first reading of the Ordinance, Applicant indicated an intention to reflag the Bahia Mar Hotel as a Doubletree Hotel. Does the Commission want to preserve the good will established by the name "Bahia Mar"?

In conclusion, Condition 13 provides that within 9 months either DRC gives final approval to the site plan or Condition 1 documents are completed. This Condition makes it imperative that the Commission asks more questions of staff and legal and provides adequate and specific guidance to staff and legal about the proposed site plan and the development plan and the lease agreements. If you believe there is more to do, the second reading of the Ordinance is premature.

Coral Springs versus Parkland battle in state legislative race

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 9, 2011 07:45 AM

He’s seeking the Democratic nomination for Porth’s 96th House district in the August 2012 primary. Porth can’t run for re-election because of term limits.

Brook doesn't have a clear path to the nomination.

Already in the running is Parkland Commissioner Jared Moskowitz. He comes from a prominent family in Broward Democratic politics; father Mike Moskowitz is Broward's state Democratic committeeman.

The district currently includes all or parts of Coral Springs, Lauderhill, North Lauderdale and Tamarac.

One big challenge for Brook and any other legislative candidate: no one knows what territory will be included in the 96th District.

Boundaries for all legislative districts will be redrawn before the 2012 elections to reflect population changes uncovered in last year’s Census.

Brook said in announcing his candidacy this week that he wants to minimize the “politics” in politics.

“We must ensure all of our local stakeholders are heard in order to take our government to the next level. We reached great success in Coral Springs in part because of the collaboration between government, citizens, volunteers and our front-line workers. Our future and our children’s future are at stake,” he said in a statement.

“We must surpass political rhetoric and make this our race. My time will be focused much more on public service than on politics.”

June 8, 2011

New law leaves Fort Lauderdale searching for direction on short-term rentals

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 8, 2011 09:00 AM

Gov. Rick Scott has signed legislation that limits local governments’ ability to regulate short-term rentals, and now Fort Lauderdale is scrambling to decide what to do.

Fort Lauderdale city commissioners and a task force looking into short-term rentals discussed Tuesday their next move and decided to see if there are any new restrictions that could be imposed that would not violate the new law. They likely will look at such possibilities as requiring landlords to register and be licensed with the city.

The new law bars cities from attempting to regulate short-term rentals after June 1. A few communities rushed to meet the deadline, but Fort Lauderdale had not moved quickly enough after more than a year of debate.

The short-term rental market exploded during the real estate boom-turned-bust of the past decade.

Some neighbors describe them as mini-hotels and party houses and say that they have overwhelmed them with noise, traffic and trash. They wanted Fort Lauderdale to crack down, but short-term rental advocates said they are an important part of the tourism trade and that the real estate market would be harmed by any restrictions.

The legislation signed by Scott passed both the House and Senate overwhelmingly in May. Sponsors of the legislation said they were defending local property rights because an unfair bias against rentals was developing. They argue rentals shouldn't be treated differently from any other home in the neighborhood.

Fort Lauderdale is left with regulations that both landlords and opponents of short-term rentals say are too vague. Rentals of more than a month are OK. Landlords who rent for shorter periods may be breaking the law.

Broward elections office surveys voters online

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 8, 2011 08:24 AM

As it plans for how to handle the crush of voters expected in the 2012 presidential election, the Broward Supervisor of Elections Office is seeking public input.

Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes has put a voter survey on her office’s website.

It asks a series of questions about people’s voting patterns – what elections they participate in, how they get their information, and which voting methods they prefer (early voting, Election Day voting or absentee ballot).

“It is an opportunity for Broward voters to share their comments on what our office can do to improve our services to them,” said spokeswoman Evelyn Perez-Verdia.

Wilton Manors' Resnick: New ethics code would cause mass resignations

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 8, 2011 08:06 AM

If the politicians in all the City Halls have to live with Broward County’s new ethics code, some of them just might quit.

That’s what Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick warned the County Commission on Tuesday, as he and other city officials asked for a more lenient set of ethics rules for the 150 elected officials in Broward’s 31 cities than the ethics code that applies to the nine county commissioners right now.

The ethics code as proposed would keep city politicians from working on the side in a job that requires them to lobby or contact other Broward city politicians for votes. The idea, ethics code supporters said at the time, was to keep elected officials from using their political influence to line their pockets in their private lives.

Resnick said the “unfortunate’’ impact would be that “many of the finest elected officials in this county will resign.’’

The cities wants their politicians, office staff, spouses and the like to be allowed to lobby in other City Halls in Broward. Don't take my word for it. Look at this matrix showing the differences between what the cities want and what Broward County commissioners have to abide by.

The cities also don’t want an “absurd’’ total ban on accepting meals and gifts, Coconut Creek Commissioner Lisa Aaronson said. County commissioners don’t like it, either; they can’t accept as much as a bottle of water at events they’re invited to.

Those are just a couple of the changes city officials want before the county imposes an ethics code on them. Voters last fall said they want the county to do so, but it has yet to happen. City officials won yet another delay Tuesday, when county commissioners asked the new countywide inspector general to look at it and weigh in. Some commissioners said they might even seek to put it back on the ballot after that.

Lauderdale Lakes the government "Ponzi scheme of the century''

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 7, 2011 07:32 PM

Lauderdale Lakes officials say the city’s financial books were a sham, a fictional fairy tale woven by a city manager who wooed her elected officials to sleep for years while the city went down the tubes.

That’s the explanation they gave to Broward County commissioners on Tuesday, asking for help and mercy from the countywide taxpayers, in the form of a loan, as their city teeters on insolvency.

“What happened to Lauderdale Lakes is no different than what happened to Bernie Madoff investors and Scott Rothstein investors,’’ Lauderdale Lakes Commissioner Eric Haynes said at a meeting with Broward County commissioners and Sheriff Al Lamberti. “… The commission was provided data, financial data that was manipulated. It was pretty much a governmental Ponzi scheme.’’

But county commissioners refused to rescue the crippled city just yet, unconvinced that the Lakes leaders who led the city to financial disaster can now repair it. Commissioners ordered the city to get outside experts to guide the massive financial repair before Broward County will consider extending a loan to cover $9 million in debt the city owes the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

“I don’t see the city competent enough to honor any plans that are laid forth,’’ Commissioner Kristin Jacobs said, after calling the city’s recovery plan “childlike and infantile.’’

The city’s downward trend was easy to spot but was ignored, county commissioners said. And a year ago, Lauderdale Lakes city commissioners did not heed an independent auditor’s warning that the city had less than $1 million, only $43,399 of it cash. Last budget year, the city ended with a $1.5 million deficit, the city now believes.

Haynes said then-City Manager Anita Fain-Taylor – who was fired two weeks ago -- comforted them with numbers, figures he and Broward Commissioner Dale Holness said were not real.
“I think they probably made those numbers up, to be honest with you,’’ Holness said of the city’s revenue projections. “… Someone was feeding numbers into the system that weren’t there, that were a figment of someone’s imagination. And every year, rather than dealing with the reality of where we are, they basically fudged the numbers.’’

“So everyone’s been fooled by one woman?’’ a doubting Commissioner Jacobs said.

“Amazing, isn’t it?’’ echoed Commissioner Lois Wexler, who shook her head at much of what she heard Tuesday and called it the “Ponzi scheme of the century.’’

Fain-Taylor didn’t return a call to her cell phone Tuesday afternoon. She was fired on May 24, when one city commissioner, Gloria Lewis, said a “three-legged, blind dog’’ could have managed the city better. Taylor, facing her firing, said she wished predictions of a May 21 Rapture had come true, so “I wouldn’t be sitting here.’’

At the helm now is Jonathan Allen, but as an 11-year employee there who was Taylor’s deputy, Jacobs questioned his credentials. Haynes said Allen was bamboozled as well.

Allen, the acting city manager and the public works director, has shown more leadership in two weeks than what the city has seen in “several years,’’ Mayor Barrington Russell said.

Besides a loan from the county, Lauderdale Lakes said it would pass substantial pain to residents, maxing out the fire fee, a $50 increase; raising the property tax to the highest allowed by state law, or just under it; adding a possible new tax for public safety; and cutting fire and police protection 25 percent.

Mayor Sue Gunzburger, like Commissioner Ilene Lieberman, didn’t want to bail out a city while others might be waiting in the wings. Lauderdale Lakes is by far in the worst financial shape of any in Broward, but the city of Hollywood just reported a state of “financial urgency.’’

“My own town is in big financial trouble,’’ said Gunzburger, a Hollywood resident. “ … I’m wary of opening a Pandora’s box that is going to lead us down to financial ruin.’’

Only Commissioner Stacy Ritter offered a soothing reassurance to Lakes, saying she had “pity
and sympathy’’ rather than “wrath.’’ She said Broward should help; no one else will.

“There’s no other city that will have them,’’ Ritter said. “Who’s going to take an insolvent city?’’

Feldman to start Monday in Fort Lauderdale City Hall

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 7, 2011 07:11 PM

The new city manager for Fort Lauderdale will start work next week after city commissioners approved his contract Tuesday night.

Lee Feldman, who currently is the Palm Bay city manager, will make less than $200,000 under the contract. His predecessor running day-to-day operations of Fort Lauderdale, George Gretsas, made $230,000.

Feldman must move to the city within six months and will receive $10,000 in relocation expenses. There is no length to the contract, but he or the city must give 60 days’ notice to break it and then he would receive a maximum of six months’ severance pay.

City commissioners didn't renew Gretsas' contract last summer, ending his six-year tenure as city manager.

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 7, 2011 05:22 PM

FORT LAUDERDALE The city will not buy temporary bleachers for the International Swimming Hall of Fame in hopes of saving the YMCA’s annual national swimming championships.

City commissioners on Wednesday rejected spending $710,000 to demolish the current unusable grandstands and buy replacements that could be used until a major redevelopment of the hall of fame is undertaken. The YMCA has said it will not return without a major repair of the aquatic complex and must decide where to hold its 2012 championships this month.

A city inspection in mid-January concluded the 1,800-seat grandstands were structurally unsound. When the YMCA championships occurred in April, thousands of spectators squeezed into temporary seating and watched from big-screen televisions.

The city has been discussing redeveloping the aquatic complex with Residential Design & Construction. The developers have proposed new Olympic-size pools, a dive well and state-of-the-art surf machines.

High school football, pro soccer could be forced out of Fort Lauderdale stadiums

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 7, 2011 05:08 PM

FORT LAUDERDALE Local high school sports teams and the professional soccer team could soon be forced to leave the stadiums near the executive airport and find a new place to play.

City officials vowed Tuesday a last-ditch appeal to the Federal Aviation Administration to salvage the teams’ use of the stadiums before they would be forced out at the end of the month. The city thought it had a deal with the FAA to allow the teams to stay while long-term redevelopment plans are negotiated, but the FAA recently laid out new demands.

The FAA has a strong say in what happens at the stadiums because it gave the property along with the land underneath adjacent Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport to the city in 1947.

The FAA’s position has stunned the city, the school system and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers soccer team. High school sports teams have played at 20,000-seat Lockhart Stadium for more than 50 years, and it is now home of Fort Lauderdale High and Stranahan High’s football teams.

“We will try to do everything possible to make sure these teams can stay,” Mayor Jack Seiler said.

Commissioners will lobby the FAA and members of Congress over the next couple weeks in hopes of a resolution. The crux of the problem is that the FAA wants all revenue generated by the school system or the Strikers going to the airport.

The school system would have to forfeit its ticket sales as would the Strikers.

It’s a repeat of the fight that prompted the Baltimore Orioles baseball team to stop spring training at the Fort Lauderdale Stadium in 2009 and move to Sarasota. The FAA requires the city to use the land that encompasses Lockhart and Fort Lauderdale stadiums for aviation purposes or comply with severe financial restrictions.

The Broward County Athletic Association is preparing contingency plans to move football games this fall to neighboring schools with on-campus stadiums. The Strikers have seven games scheduled at Lockhart between July and September and also practice in Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

The city has been negotiating with Schlitterbahn Development Group to build a major water park resort as well as an updated recreational complex for local sports. Schlitterbahn made its $110 million proposal last summer and is the only long-term redevelopment that the FAA has deemed acceptable.

The city had met earlier FAA demands. The city’s request for a five-year lease extension was shaved to 18 months. Officials have asked Broward County planners to change the land-use designation from park to airport use at the FAA’s request.

U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, wrote the FAA in January to urge the agency to allow the schools to continue to use Lockhart. Hastings noted the decision would impact thousands of Broward students and families. In addition to being the home field of Fort Lauderdale and Stranahan highs, Dillard High plays some of its games there as well including its annual Soul Bowl against rival Branche Ely High.

“This just seems punitive, and I don’t see the logic of what the FAA is doing,” City Commissioner Romney Rogers said. “We’ve been using this property for 50 years for school sports.”

Update on comments

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 7, 2011 04:48 PM

(Comments were disabled for a few days because an onslaught of comment spam overwhelmed the system last week, causing it to crash repeatedly. This happened across many Sun Sentinel blogs.)

The technical folks have restored commenting, but there's been a change.

To avoid a similar system crash, comments are held until they can be approved for posting.

The substance won't change -- as long as comments adhere to the comment board guidelines below.

The big impact is that comments won't go up instantly. Overnight comments won't ordinarily get looked at in the middle of the night. And if the writer of the blog post is out covering a story or on deadline writing, comments will also be delayed.

Final vote on Bahia Mar plans delayed two weeks

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 7, 2011 02:51 PM

City commissioners have held up final approval of the design plans for the redevelopment of the Bahia Mar hotel and marina complex.

Commissioners were set to take a final vote Tuesday night and move the $250 million project a step closer to reality. Commissioner Bruce Roberts said he had new questions and wanted more time to talk to developers.

The commission will now vote June 21.

The plans include a new five-star Waldorf-Astoria, a renovated Bahia Mar hotel, a waterfront park and a permanent home for the annual International Boat Show. Even with the approval of the design plans, the developers would still have to negotiate details of a long-term lease for the prime city-owned property.

LXR Resorts, which is owned by the equity group Blackstone, has been negotiating with the city for five years to craft a rehab of the Bahia Mar. The plans -- which involve no commitment of tax money -- were scaled back drastically last fall under a compromise struck between developers and neighborhood activists.

The Waldorf-Astoria would be a tiered tower, rising from 22 stories up to 26 stories with a total of 290 rooms and 28 luxury condos. LXR deleted twin condo high-rises last fall to cut the size of the project in half.

A little over an acre of property along the Intracoastal Waterway would be set aside for a park. It would be bordered by a 20-foot-wide promenade. In addition, the Bahia Mar developers would pay for a beach community center, a police command center, a trolley stop and the boat show improvements.

The developers have wanted a 100-year lease, but the city charter says that the Bahia Mar cannot be leased for more than 50 years without competitive bids. To get around the restriction, attorneys for the city and the developers plan to draw up a 50-year lease that would be followed by a second 50-year lease.

Lauderdale Lakes officials ripped to shreds by Broward commissioners

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 7, 2011 02:27 PM

Yes, they're smiling, but they might just have been relieved that the meeting they just sat through was over.

The man in this photo with Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti is Jonathan Allen, who for now is acting city manager and public works director for the teetering city of Lauderdale Lakes.

Lamberti looks happy, but in reality, he's not that thrilled that this city owes his agency millions and stopped paying the full bill quite a while ago.

In a meeting with county commissioners Tuesday, the sheriff and Allen and other Lauderdale Lakes officials talked about how to save that city from insolvency in Broward's worst municipal financial disaster of this recession and its accompanying real estate bust.

I'll give you more details in a bit, but let me summarize by telling you that Broward Commissioner Lois Wexler called the city's financial books "the Ponzi scheme of the century.''

The county didn't say it would help. But it might if the city gets some outside advice and a more detailed financial plan for solvency.

Broward commissioners vote to sue Wynmoor senior condo

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 7, 2011 11:07 AM

The vote's been taken, and the deal is done. Broward County will send lawyers to federal court to sue Portofino Isles condo in Coconut Creek's Wynmoor community so that a 50-year-old can remain in the 55-and-older community.

Only Broward Commissioner Ilene Lieberman voted against it. She and Commissioner Lois Wexler were concerned that Portofino could lose its senior-community status if relative youngsters like this one are allowed to remain.

Commissioner Dale Holness, who has a real estate background, said up to 20 percent of the residents can be younger than 55 without threatening the status of the condo. The county attorney backed up Holness on that.

County Attorney Joni Coffey advised commissioners they were obligated to send this Fair Housing Act case to court by virtue of the county's handling of the federal cases. This is normally the domain of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The 50-year-old in this case said he is the victim of a "condo commando to the millionth degree.''

Scott Spector, the alleged victim in this case, is said to be disabled because of a brain injury years ago.

He told me that the condo president, Bill Balne, targeted him because Balne inherited his own mother's condo when he was in his 30s, but he had to wait until he was 55 to live in it.

"He’s a condo commando, to the millionth degree. That’s his job in life is to make people miserable. This is how he spends his last days on earth, by doing these thigns. Can you believe it?''

I read all these comments to Balne and he had no objection or comment.

The condo's lawyer, Mark Bogen, was puzzled by the whole lawsuit, because he said the condo is no longer trying to evict Spector. Though the county isn't so sure of that, Bogen said he advised the condo that Spector must be allowed to remain, now that he's shown the medical documentation to back up his disability.

At issue is whether allowing him to stay in the condo and get an exception to its age rules is a "reasonable accommodation'' the condo leaders should grant because of Spector's disability. The federal housing law gives disabled people the right to have reasonable accommodations to the rules.

Even if the eviction action has disappeared, Spector wants monetary damages, he said. And the county might seek a penalty against the condo, as well as attorney's fee.

Bogen said he also told the condo to take down the cameras, after Spector complained.

Bogen said they were put up after Balne's car was scratched with a key, and garbage was strewn in the courtyard.

He said Spector initially didn't show medical proof to back up his claim of a disability.

"Everybody wants to say the condos are the bad guys. A lot of times the condos are the bad guys,'' he said, "but as long as there’s a legal basis for [the disability request], my client’s not going to fight.''

Broward Sheriff Lamberti combed offices for surveillance bugs

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 7, 2011 10:04 AM

When one sheriff takes over at Broward Sheriff's Office, there's a bit of turmoil in the agency as everyone gets used to the new head honcho. I got hold of a report the other day that gives you a good idea how deep the suspicions of the prior administration lie.

When Al Lamberti became sheriff in 2008, he heard the place was bugged by his predecessor, Ken Jenne.

Take a look at this investigation he ordered. BSO folks swept the place for bugs, and even looked to see whether the phones were tapped.

The answer they came up with: No.

Funny tidbit from this: There was a wire hanging from the ceiling in one of the offices, but it turned out that was just a prank.

And if you missed my video tour of Jenne's remodeling of the fifth floor offices, see it above.

June 6, 2011

Broward ready to sue senior condo to allow 50-year-old to live there

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 6, 2011 07:05 PM

Broward County government is poised to sue a 55-and-older condo in Coconut Creek’s Wynmoor community for trying to evict a younger man.

If county commissioners agree on Tuesday, the county’s attorneys would have permission to file suit in federal court against Portofino Isle condo, arguing it shouldn’t have tried to evict 50-year-old Scott Spector. He’s disabled, the county argues, and must be given permission to remain.

Spector said “two guys with hammers tried to kill me over a cup of coffee’’ many years ago in New York City, causing permanent mental and physical disabilities.

Since he asserted his right to live in the condo as a disabled person, he said, the condo president and others have screamed and yelled at him, set up a surveillance camera pointed at his door, and sent him threatening letters. The condo filed an eviction action against him, as well.

“These are the type of animals I deal with,’’ Spector said Monday.

The county’s suit will seek assurance Spector can remain, plus damages for Spector and attorney’s fees for the county, among other things.

Portofino attorney Mark Bogen said the condo has backed off the eviction, though he acknowledged that nothing to that affect has been put in writing. He said Spector was not harassed or mistreated and isn’t entitled to a “penny’’ of damages. He said Portofino was merely defending its 55-and-older status against possible fraud.

The first medical documentation Spector provided was from a chiropractor, Bogen noted, even though the disability is a brain injury.

“We’re not going to be extorted for money for doing our job,’’ Bogen said.

Spector moved in when he was 37, but that was fine, because his grandmother lived there, too. When she died two years ago, the condo moved in to try to move him out. That’s when he alerted the condo to his disability.

One of his doctors wrote that Spector would “not be able to survive on his own’’ if evicted and might have suicidal thoughts. His chiropractor wrote that this was a matter of “life and death’’ for him.

Spector originally complained to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, defender of the federal Fair Housing Act, which gives disabled people the right to have a “reasonable accommodation’’ in housing. In Broward, that federal agency’s housing cases are handled by the county, and that’s where Spector’s case landed. The cost is borne, though, by the federal government.

Broward County’s lawyers investigated Spector’s case and determined the condo violated federal law as well as the county’s Human Rights Act “by denying complainant a reasonable accommodation because of his disabilities and coercing, intimidating, threatening or interfering’’ with his attempt to exercise his rights.

Broward County went to court just last month to sue another Broward condo, Ventnor H. Condominium Association in Deerfield Beach, part of Century Village, for discriminating against a woman who lives there with a Chihuahua. The condo has a rule against pets, but the county argues in that suit that Phyllis Schleifer is emotionally disabled and needs the pet for comfort. That case is also supported with federal dollars, as part of the county’s agreement to handle complaints typically handled by HUD.

Congressman Allen West heads (back) to Afghanistan

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 6, 2011 04:53 PM

U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, is heading to Afghanistan.

The freshman congressman from Broward and Palm Beach counties will be traveling to Afghanistan June 24th-29th with other members of the House Armed Services Committee as part of a Congressional Delegation or CODEL.

West's office said the idea is to get first hand local and regional political, military and economic updates from United States and Afghan leaders on the ground ad the planned July 1 drawdown of soldiers approaches.

It isn't West's first trip to Afghanistan. A retired lieutenant colonel who spent 22 years in the Army, he was a military congractor in Afghanistan from June 2005 to November 2007 traninig Afghan soldiers.

(My first conversation with West, when he was preparing to run for Congress in 2006, was via phone when he was serving in Afghanistan.)

It's also not West's first CODEL. He traveled to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in March.

West's office said the congressman met Monday with Marines from the 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liason Company in West Palm Beach to learn about their experiences serving in Afghanistan.

"Before I travel to Afghanistan, it is imperative that I talk with members of our Armed Forces and learn about their experiences," West said in a statement. "These brave warriors are on the ground fighting this fight, and no one knows better than they do, what the conditions are for this combat operation to be a success."

Posh beach hotel told to stop the partying

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 6, 2011 11:37 AM

The posh beachside W hotel is being told to stop the partying — but is fighting back.

The hotel's been charged with violating city land-use regulations after nearby condo residents complained about loud parties around its pool deck. The W now wants special permission to host outdoor events as well as serve drinks and play music late into the night.

The W would join an elite group of places in Fort Lauderdale declared entertainment zones by the city – Las Olas Riverfront, BeachPlace, the Himmarshee downtown business district and a block of clubs and bars near Las Olas Boulevard and State Road A1A.

Hotel lawyers said in their request that the move would promote tourism and add to the revitalization of the beach, but neighbors say the extra partying is too much for a section of a beach that is a mix of hotels and homes.

"They are not a world unto themselves and have no right to destroy the community to make a profit," said Mel Rubinstein, a longtime beach activist whose condo off Birch Road faces the W. "This is very, very loud music that is just being blasted away. Forget about going out on your balcony. You can close your sliding-glass door and windows, but the music comes right through and is an invasion of our privacy."

Lawyers for the W declined to comment about the citation or to discuss the request for a special entertainment district.

The noise dispute is the fallout from Fort Lauderdale's vision to redevelop the beach and downtown as urban centers of activity with businesses and residences side by side. A decade of redevelopment on the beach has brought the opening of the W and other upscale hotels.

Business owners downtown and on the beach have pressed for greater leniency in noise regulations while residents have championed tougher standards. A city review of the longstanding rules has been underway for a year, and recommendations for change should be ready for the City Commission by late summer.

Fort Lauderdale basically has two sets of noise and alcohol regulations: one for the small number of entertainment districts and the other for the rest of the city.

Businesses that sell alcohol outside the entertainment districts can play music after 11 p.m. only in soundproof rooms and can't play music outdoors unless that have a permit for a special occasion. The latest liquor can be served is 2 a.m. weeknights and 3 a.m. weekends.

But within an entertainment district, businesses don't have to lower their music to conversation levels until 2 a.m. weekdays and 3 a.m. weekends. Outside events are allowed and can play music until midnight weekdays and 1 a.m. weekends. Alcohol can be served until 4 a.m.

Fred Carlson, a leader of the Central Beach Alliance, said he wasn't aware of the W's push for special status, but said the city should have been faster in updating its noise regulations. Businesses and residents have been left in limbo for too long, he said.

"Miami has solved the problem and other cities have solved the problem so I don't understand why we can't do the same," Carlson said. "It's a case of Bureaucracy 101."

The city has cracked down on noise at the W before. A year ago, a special magistrate ruled that the W's Whiskey Blue nightclub needed to quiet down after neighboring residents complained.

Residents say Whiskey Blue has followed the 11 p.m. quiet rules since then, but they say the hotel later began hosting outdoor parties on the pool deck and in a plaza between its two buildings. Rubinstein and fellow residents of Birch Crest condos say the partying became routine in mid-May.

After complaints to the Police Department and the code enforcement office, the city cited the W for outdoor partying without a permit.

City Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom, who represents the beach, said she is skeptical of the W's proposal. She said the hotel knew the rules when it was built.

"That area of the beach is not meant for a lot of noise because there are so many residences around there," Rodstrom said. "They need to be courteous and conscious of the people who make the beach their home. It's a compromise, and the businesses need to be sympathetic."

Republicans seek new support among Jewish voters

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 6, 2011 10:37 AM

Generations of Jewish loyalty to the Democratic Party is under stress – a transformation that may be accelerated by Jewish voters’ concerns about President Barack Obama’s policies toward Israel.

The stakes are huge. The battle for the hearts and minds of Jewish voters in Broward and Palm Beach counties could affect the outcome of next year’s presidential election. Beyond 2012, any erosion of Jewish voters’ loyalty to the Democratic Party could change the region’s political landscape.

“The Jewish community is waking up,” said Sid Dinerstein, chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. State Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Parkland, said the Democratic Party ignores the threat at great peril. “The Democratic Party can’t take the Jewish community for granted.”

Experts said Obama could lose as much as a quarter of the Jewish vote in South Florida. That could prove critical in a closely contested state like Florida, which will award 29 of the 270 votes needed to win the presidency. Political party leaders and political scientists said it’s impossible for Obama to win the state if he doesn’t do well with Jewish voters in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Ring said he can see Republican inroads at the Reform synagogue where he worships, Congregation Kol Tikvah, in Parkland. Home to many young families, it’s not monolithically Democratic. Ring said freshman U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, has many fans in the congregation.

Jews aren’t fleeing the Democratic Party en masse and embracing the Republicans. Activists in both parties and academics who’ve studied Jewish life and politics said the shift is more subtle. Some are registering as Republicans, some are becoming independent, no party affiliation voters, and others are remaining Democrats and flirting with the idea of voting for Republicans.

Jewish politicians, activists and political scientists said age and spiritual alignment are factors.

The generation of Jewish voters whose political views were shaped in the middle of the last century and defined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt is dying. And younger people no longer have the same allegiance to the Democratic Party as their parents, and especially their grandparents.

“They’re not going to be the kind of people who, by the time they turn 80 years old, will be able to tell their children and grandchildren that they’ve voted for the same party their entire lives,” Ring said.

Chayim Dimont, 39, came from a Democratic household and was one himself for a while. He said he’s now a Republican, but said he votes based on specific candidates and issues rather than party. And Eli Rothschild, 22, of Boca Raton, is starting at Nova Southeastern University law school in the fall. He’s registered as an independent, no party affiliation voter – and said he could see himself becoming a Republican some day.

Voter registrations don’t show religious affiliation, but Ira Sheskin, of Cooper City, a University of Miami geography professor who specializes in Jewish demographics, said younger people are somewhat more likely to register as Republicans or no party affiliation voters. Sheskin has conducted extensive surveys of Jewish population centers across the country and studied overall demographic trends.

Sheskin, Martin Sweet, a former Florida Atlantic University Honors College political scientist who now teaches American politics at Northwestern University, and Rabbi Efrem Goldberg of Boca Raton Synagogue, said religiously conservative Jews are more inclined to vote Republican. Conservative and Reform Jews still lean Democratic, they said, but the Orthodox – the small but fastest growing branch – is much more Republican.

Hoping to capitalize on the trends, Republicans are aggressively courting the Jewish vote. In Palm Beach County, Edith Klein regularly attends meetings of the local chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition. In the overwhelmingly Jewish Wynmoor Village condominium community in Coconut Creek, Sidney Feldman founded a Republican Club. And last month, the Broward Republican Party launched a Jewish Outreach Committee.

Dinerstein said more people are feeling free to declare their Republicanism. “In the communities that are heavily Jewish, the people are less afraid to speak.”

As the Democratic allegiance softens, local and national Republicans are attempting to sow discontent about Obama’s stand on Israel, especially since the president’s May 19 speech in which he said talks with Palestinians should begin with Israel's borders as they stood before the 1967 war, with land swaps to reflect population changes since then.

“He uttered a few words – ‘67 borders, land swaps – and fireworks went off,” stoking a feeling among some Jews that Obama isn’t as supportive of Israel as they’d like, Goldberg said. “While there is no specific, incident, issue or policy that is cause of panic, the trend and the messaging coming from the administration have been troubling for many.”

Sweet and Sheskin said Israel isn’t the most critical issue for Jewish voters. As long as people are satisfied a candidate supports Israel, Jews will vote based on the same issues as everyone else. The No. 1 issue today: the economy.

Sheskin and Sweet, along with Democrats and Republicans, said Obama received an estimated 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008. His overall percentage of the vote was 54 percent.

Analysts across the political spectrum said Obama won’t capture that much of the Jewish vote in 2012.

Dinerstein predicted a major falloff, though he concedes Obama will get more than 50 percent of the Jewish vote. Palm Beach county Democratic activist Joe Blumenthal said Obama could still get 65 percent.

Blumenthal said the presidential re-election effort will have to redouble its efforts in the Jewish community in 2012. “There are 600,000 Jews in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. If you want to win the election, wake up and take us seriously.”

The hurricane damage photos you hope you'll never need

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 6, 2011 07:30 AM

This trashed looking house is only a two on the
county's scale from one to four. This one is "habitable.''
The others are on the jump.

House demolished by a hurricane? Yes, there is an app for that, too.

Broward County storm officials want as many people as possible to download a hurricane-damage app, at broward.org/hurricane.

If a big storm strikes, use the app to report the level of home destruction you suffer. The app will “know’’ your location and map it. If enough people call, Broward will be able to quickly figure out where the most devastated pockets are and send help.

Note that in this county photograph, the homeowner has spraypainted on the house: "You loot, we shoot!'' Very catchy.

Before, during and after a hurricane, the county will zip out information to residents constantly, something new this year, Broward public communications Director Judy Sarver said.

Those updates will be tweeted from twitter.com/ReadyBroward. Sign up for that, or for old-fashioned direct-email updates, on the county’s hurricane page.

For those without smart phones or computers, a call to the phone number 3-1-1 will be a good way to get answers.

June 5, 2011

Ellyn Bogdanoff says it’s too early to tell how Jewish voters will lean next year

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 5, 2011 09:35 AM

State Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, says it’s too early to tell how Jewish voters will go in next year’s presidential election.

She was in the thick of 2008 efforts as Florida co-chairwoman of Republican John McCain’s Jewish outreach effort.

It didn’t go so well, with Obama taking an estimated 78 percent of the Jewish vote. The Jewish community “embraced him.”

In 2008, Israel wasn’t the top issue for the Jewish community, Bogdanoff said. “It was the economy.”

She said 2012 could be different. “It’s been the topic in the Jewish community, the frustration that people are feeling. Whether or not they vote for the Republican, or a third party, I don’t know.”

“What happens [in a given election] has a lot has to do with the politics of the time. Because you do have a president who has been somewhat, a lot of people would say, unfriendly toward the issues of Israel,” she said. “If people were on the fence and thinking about [voting Republican] I think you might end up seeing a greater trend moving in that direction.”

One thing that’s exceedingly unlikely, Bogdanoff said, is Jewish voters staying home and not participating in the election at all. “For the Jewish community it’s unlikely. They’re very committed to voting.”

Jewish voters have traditionally been allied with the Democrats. Bogdanoff is an exception; her parents were Republicans and she’s always been a Republican.

Bogdanoff is currently the only Jewish Republican in the Florida Legislature. She said she’s been invited to go on a summer trade mission to Israel with Gov. Rick Scott.

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 5, 2011 07:46 AM

The presidential candidates will compete fiercely for support among Jewish voters next year.

It’s not the first time.

In 2008, the presidential candidates worked overtime to sway South Florida Jewish voters.

One of the first stops on Barack Obama’s first big Florida swing after he locked up the 2008 nomination was at a Boca Raton synagogue.

And the Obama campaign flooded Broward and Palm Beach counties with surrogates to reassure the Jewish community that he was a strong supporter of Israel.

Then U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, an Orthodox Jew who was one of Israel’s most prominent supporters in Congress, told his constituents that Obama was a “110 percent” supporter of Israel.

The Obama camp also called on U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, to sell him to Jewish voters. Wasserman Schultz is now chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain set up a Jewish outreach effort co-chaired by then-state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale. She’s now a state senator from Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The McCain campaign frequently dispatched his most prominent Jewish supporter – U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee – to South Florida. It billed one Fort Lauderdale appearance as a “Lox the Vote” event.

June 4, 2011

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 4, 2011 04:18 PM

High up inside the sheriff’s headquarters is one of the poshest government offices you've ever (not) seen.

Then-Sheriff Ken Jenne spent $1.6 million in public grant funds creating a wood-paneled, private lair on the fifth floor of the Broward Sheriff’s Office headquarters on West Broward Boulevard.

On one side of the fifth floor: linoleum tile, industrial flourescent lights, white drywall and metal doors. On Jenne’s side: oak wainscoting and moulding on the walls, complimented by wood floors and wood shades or blinds on every window. A hallway turned into a work of art -- an elaborate wall mural of historic photographs hand-drawn in pencil and painted in sepia tones.

That side of the floor, where the sheriff and his top command staff have their offices, is adorned with $438,000 in furniture, including $4,000 worth of chairs around a $9,000 wood conference table. Gleaming marble and granite countertops and windowsills. Egyptian-cotton sofas and chairs. A private sheriff’s den furnished with soft leather love seat and matching chaise lounge. A connecting executive bathroom, with a telephone on the wall next to the toilet, and a glass-tile enclosed shower.

In an investigative report made public last week for the first time at the request of the Sun Sentinel, a window is opened into the lavish administrative kingdom of Sheriff Jenne, a former state senator and attorney. Jenne ultimately fell from grace and left the sheriff’s post in 2007 to become a prison inmate, after admitting to public corruption crimes.

Jenne’s 2004 remodeling stands in stark contrast to skeletal budgets now, at a time when local governments and BSO are scrapping together spending plans with less money than ever.

Jenne, who didn’t return a call to his cell phone for comment, is accused in the report of ignoring advice and declaring “it was his money and he would do what he wanted with it.’’

Indeed, the grant’s use was unrestricted at the time, but the investigative report reveals that Jenne’s remodeling was “prominently featured’’ in Congressional debate in 2007 about perceived misspending of the grant, BSO’s Michael Somberg told investigators in the 2008 probe. Somberg said “BSO was cited as an example of how not to use the funds,’’ and the rules for that grant, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, were changed by Congress that year.

Another tidbit from the investigation: Jenne didn’t like the color of the oak once it was fashioned onto the walls, complaining it was too dark. He had it stripped off and ordered the work redone, paying some BSO technical support staff overtime to help put up the replacement wood.

The spending on his floor of offices, using a federal grant intended to help the agency house undocumented immigrants accused of felonies, was defended by BSO at the time. An agency spokeswoman said it was justified because of the sheriff and command staff’s long work hours, and the importance of moving the sheriff to a floor where his location would be “restricted’’ for safety.

The luxury is not a point of pride any longer.

“Sheriff [Al] Lamberti has stated many times that it’s not his style and that he would prefer it not be so fancy,’’ BSO spokesman Jim Leljedal said Thursday.

In the investigative report made public last week to the Sun Sentinel, Jenne’s spending spree was examined but found not to have violated any laws.

One of the rooms Jenne redid was used to hold his controversial, pressure-packed POWERTRAC crime statistics meetings with lower level staff, where they were grilled about crime statistics. The ritual grew into a scandal for the agency, accused of doctoring statistics. The room features stadium seating for the lower level staff, looking upon a huge table of command staff with computers embedded. Jenne’s station powered overhead screens. Jenne would enter from the front of the room, prompting his staff to rise.

The BSO investigation into the remodeling was sparked by Lamberti after he heard rumors of possible wrongdoing associated with it, the report says. His investigators found no fraud or wrongdoing. The spending was also looked at by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to BSO’s Somberg.

Lamberti, appointed sheriff and subsequently elected, opened a separate investigation at the same time to find out whether the floor had been bugged by Jenne’s administration with surveillance devices or phone taps. None were found.

Leljedal said the floor “is what it is’’ now. There’s no point in changing it.

“It cost over $1 million to build,’’ he said, “and it would cost another $1 million to unbuild.’’

Broward's Sharief, on the issues: the video

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 4, 2011 03:59 PM

Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief came to the Sun Sentinel not long ago to give us an update on what she's up to. She is a "freshman'' commissioner, representing southwest Broward.

You'll get a sense of her from this video. She talks about what it's like to be a commissioner, her original impressions of the job, her thoughts on redrawing political districts for the commission (hers is too large and must be reduced) and her take on the killing of Osama bin Laden (that part I posted previously.)

June 3, 2011

Congressman Ted Deutch blasts Florida, other states for disenfranchising voters

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 3, 2011 03:05 PM

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, said Friday he wants a House Judiciary Committee hearing into what he termed a wave of state legislative efforts aimed at impeding and disenfranchising voters.

He specifically cited what his office called "the radical overhaul of voting rights" recently signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

From Deutch:

"Stoking fear using the nonexistent threat of mass voter fraud is now the right-wing talking point of choice for those passing laws to suppress minority, student, and traditionally Democratic voters," Deutch said in a statement

"If Republicans were truly concerned with the integrity of our elections systems, they could pass reforms to make vote counts more accountable, electronic machines more secure, and state registration databases more accurate. While the most egregious threat to voting rights has been passed in Florida, there is a disturbing trend of new state laws across America that aim to reduce turnout, and it is up to the Judiciary Committee to ensure that such measures are not encroaching on the federal voting rights afforded to all Americans by our Constitution."

From Deutch's office:

Despite the charges by Republican state legislators that Florida has a systemic voter fraud problem, there have been only 31 complaints of fraud and three arrests made since 2008. Poll workers take an active role in preventing fraud by accessing a state database that can confirm voters' identities, registration, and voter history.

[The new Florida law] contains unprecedented restrictions of the voting rights of Floridians. It all but eradicates voter registration drives conducted by volunteer-based, third party groups like the League of Women Voters, the Boy Scouts of America, and the NAACP.

The legislation will also force dozens of legitimate voters to cast provisional ballots by eliminating a decades-old law enabling Floridians with proper identification to update their names and addresses at the polls due to a military family move, marriage, or divorce. H.B. 1355 also slashes the early voting period from 14 days to 6, posing a special challenge to working Floridians and elderly voters who cannot wait on the long lines of Election Day.

Additionally, the bill places new restrictions on the validity of absentee ballots, determining them illegal if signatures do not closely enough match those on older state documents. This provision is especially troubling for elderly and disabled Floridians whose handwriting may suffer due to stroke, Parkinson’s disease, or other disorders.

Broward Republican Party forms Jewish Outreach Committee

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 3, 2011 01:05 PM

Broward Republicans are launching a new effort to convince Jewish voters that the Republican Party is better for Israel than the Democrats.

But the Jewish Outreach Committee’s chairwoman said Israel is the top priority – and is more important than the Republican Party’s main objective, which is electing Republicans.

“We want to reach the Jewish community in Broward County in order to educate, inform and kind of get together and talk about the future of Israel,” said Julie Gerber, the panel’s chairwoman. “We’re very concerned and worried about Israel.”

Gerber said Israel of such paramount importance that she could imagine supporting a Democrat if she views the candidate as more supportive of Israel than the Republican.

She said she couldn’t say if she’d support or oppose the re-election of U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, a strong supporter if Israel who represents northwestern Broward. “I don’t know who I would support. It depends on who runs against him.”

Gerber, of Fort Lauderdale, said she became a Republican committeewoman a few months ago. She said she approached party Chairman Richard DeNapoli about setting up a Jewish Outreach Committee, and he was enthusiastic.

The committee’s held one meeting, attracting about a dozen people, Gerber said. Specific plans are still vague.

“The Republican Party has long stood with Israel and its people. We know how important it is to reach out to the Jewish Community in solidarity and support,” DeNapoli said in a statement announcing the new committee.

Gerber said, “It is so important now more than ever to openly discuss the real danger Israel is experiencing, especially in light of President [Barack] Obama’s recent comments about Israel having to go back to the indefensible 1967 borders.”

In a May 19 speech, the president said talks with Palestinians should begin with Israel's borders as they stood before the 1967 war, with land swaps to reflect population changes since then.

Republicans have sought to use comments to show the president isn’t sufficiently supportive of Israel. Democrats have said the policy he articulated is no different from U.S. government policy under several previous presidents of both parties.

“To suggest that the president did significant damage to his support in the Jewish community is a gross overstatement,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, said last week at a breakfast with reporters in Washington. Wasserman Schultz is chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

Democratic activist teams up with Congressman Allen West on veterans issues

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 3, 2011 08:33 AM

Bill Kling, a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, shares a common interest in veterans with U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, one of the top targets for defeat by Democrats locally and nationally.

West is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. And Kling is president of the Broward County Veterans Advisory Council.

So when West’s office asked if he’d serve on the congressman’s Veterans Advisory Committee, Kling agreed. “As far as veterans are concerned, he’s a good guy.”

Kling’s name stands out because he’s a well-known local Democrat, having served as president of the Plantation Democratic Club for about 30 years.

Kling said he had “some trepidation” at first. “My feeling is, as far as veterans are concerned, if he’s a strong veterans’ advocate and does what he does for the veterans, I have no problem with that,” Kling said.

“I don’t actually go along with the rest of his philosophy,” he said. “Anything that doesn’t’ pertain to veterans is something he and I may disagree on, and we’ll disagree civilly – hopefully.”

The Broward County Veterans Council includes representatives from about 50 veterans groups – including the big ones such as the American Legion and Jewish War Veterans – whose members run the gamut politically.

On veterans issues, Kling said he’s bipartisan. “I work with all of them.”

He’s on advisory councils for Democratic U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And Wasserman Schultz attended the veterans council’s April meeting and West appeared in May.

Members of West’s committee represent several South Florida advocacy groups.

"The members of the Veterans Advisory Committee are our scouts, and my eyes and ears on the ground, who will enable me to focus my efforts and energy on pertinent veterans issues,” West said in a statement.

Salary for new Fort Lauderdale manager would be less than $200,000

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 2, 2011 09:00 AM

Fort Lauderdale’s incoming city manager will make substantially less than his predecessor.

Under a proposed contract that Mayor Jack Seiler is sending to his City Commission colleagues, Lee Feldman would be paid $199,000 compared to the $230,000 salary that George Gretsas earned before he left last summer.

Seiler said the total package that he and Feldman negotiated is about $50,000 to $60,000 less than Gretsas’ when salary and benefits are considered together. If the City Commission accepts the deal Tuesday, Feldman would start work on June 13.

Feldman is currently is the city manager in Palm Bay and was chosen from among more than 90 applicants to lead Fort Lauderdale’s day-to-day operations. City commissioners didn’t renew Gretsas’ contract last year, ending his six-year tenure as city manager.

Feldman’s proposed contract differs with Gretsas’ on how severance is handled. Feldman would receive three months of pay if he leaves or is forced out in the first year of work. That would grow each year to a maximum of six months’ severance pay in the fourth year of employment. If he resigns, he must give 60 days' notice. The commission must do the same if it terminates him.

Gretsas’ 2004 deal worked the opposite. If he had been terminated in the first year, he would have received 10 months' worth of salary and benefits. In the second year, it was eight months. In the third and following years, it was set at a six-month severance.

Feldman would have to move to the city of Fort Lauderdale within six months.

Rumor patrol: Broward's Holness said office was redone by scavenging, not spending

> Posted by Brittany Wallman on June 2, 2011 07:28 AM

Believe it or not, County Hall is a gossipy place. And someone had wondered aloud to me just how much money Broward Commissioner Dale Holness had wasted redoing his office after he was elected. The answer, he says: None. And he didn't spend any, either.

When I first floated that rumor to him, he commented on the question itself, as you will see in the above clip from his recent visit to the Sun Sentinel editorial board. (I protected the source, of course.)

Holness said the office was painted, after his staff selected the colors.

"I didn't necessarily like the colors. But it grew on me,'' he said. He said they're "vibrant'' colors, something like the color scheme at the regional park in his district in central Broward.

It had been pointed out to me that he'd gotten new, or at least different, furniture.

Holness said his office had "probably some of the worst furniture that anybody on our floor had.''

But Holness said he "scavenged'' from within county government to get better furniture.

There you have it. I kind of like doing the rumor patrol. Got any others?

The program is a rigorous, goal-oriented initiative that enables Members to stay on offense as they build winning re-election campaigns.

“The Patriot program is about staying on offense by building strong and winning campaigns against Democrats and their agenda that bankrupts our nation,” said Chairman [Pete] Sessions. “Allen West has demonstrated the leadership and ability to wage an aggressive campaign based on rigorous goals and proven strategies for victory. I’m very proud of Allen West and these Patriot Members who are leading the fight for victory in 2012.”

Established in 2009, the Patriot Program empowers incumbent Members to build strong campaigns through measured benchmarks and accountability, including for fundraising, communications and grassroots organization. Patriot Program Members can define strengths, address challenges early and build iron-clad campaigns for re-election.

Fort Lauderdale neighborhood crime-fighter, Pat Mayers, dies at 66

> Posted by Scott Wyman on June 1, 2011 11:44 AM

A longtime neighborhood activist who fought to clear Fort Lauderdale streets of crime, Pat Mayers, has died. She was 66.

Mayers, a local real estate agent, led efforts to clean up Victoria Park of drugs and prostitution in the 1990s and remained active since in community crime prevention programs. She was known for organizing vigils outside drug houses and prostitution dens and shouting into a bullhorn: “Hey hey, hey ho. The drug dealers got to go.”

“Pat was a person with a purpose,” longtime friend Lin Morgan said. “She really laid the ground work of what you should do in a neighborhood to fight crime. Her love of the city was astronomical, and she never ever quit.”

Morgan said Mayers recently underwent two open-heart surgeries and died Friday evening. Mayers moved to Fort Lauderdale in the 1960s from Baltimore.

She championed National Night Out Against Crime events and long led Fort Lauderdale’s Citizen Crime Alert program. She also served on the city’s board that reviewed complaints of abuse and misconduct filed against police officers.

She was particularly fond of the Police Department’s mounted horse patrol, often giving the horses sugar or an apple if an officer rode by her home in Victoria Park.

Former City Commissioner Tim Smith said he met Mayers when he was an activist in the Middle River Terrace neighborhood and joined her in trying to clean up the city. He said she was outspoken and undaunted by criminals.

In one 1998 story from the Sun Sentinel, Mayers was quoted as saying she always carried a lit cigarette whenever she went to the Hub Plaza on Federal Highway – then a magnet for prostitutes and vagrants. She said she didn’t smoke but kept the cigarette handy to burn anyone who tried to accost her.

“Fighting crime was her passion,” Smith said. “She didn’t let anyone push her around and had a lot of guts.”

Morgan said Mayers had no children. Her mother died earlier this year.

Friends will hold a memorial service from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at Art Serve at 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd. Funeral arrangements are not known.

Republicans unhappy Wasserman Schultz called their party "anti-women"

> Posted by Anthony Man on June 1, 2011 08:15 AM

Republicans are professing shock and outrage that U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, labeled their party "anti-women" last week at a Washington, D.C., breakfast with reporters.

The comment didn't generate much attention outside the blogosphere.

The Christian Science Monitor, sponsor of the famous breakfasts sessions at which bigwigs hold forth, didn't even include the comment in its account, which focused on Wasserman Schultz talking about the "hard-core, radical, right-wing agenda that the Republicans have given us a preview of," and President Barack Obama's relationship with Jewish voters. Read it here.

A U.S. News & World Report columnist said Wasserman Schultz' comments about the Republican Party and women were "an emotional assault." Read the full column here.

"It's just so hard for me to grasp how they could be so anti-women as they are," she said at a breakfast roundtable with reporters.

"The pushback and the guttural reaction from women against the Republican's agenda out of the gate, the war on women that the Republicans have been waging since they took over the House, I think is going to not only restore but possibly helps us exceed the president's margin of victory in the next election," added the popular Florida congresswoman.

The Republican response came from Sharon Day of Fort Lauderdale, the national party co-chairwoman, the party's No. 2 official.

“As a mother, a grandmother, and a fellow Floridian, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz’s comments clearly show she is out of touch with women, and with her south Florida constituents....

"Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz is representing neither women, nor her constituents, when she makes statements like this. She’s only representing a Democrat President who has waged war against job makers and taxpayers.”

Broward County is an unusually rich territory for political news. The Broward Politics blog is devoted to the politicians, the activists, the parties, the policies, the issues, the elections - in the county and its communities.

ANTHONY MAN is the Sun Sentinel’s political writer. Concentrating on local political people, parties and trends, he also covers state and national politics from a South Florida perspective. He's coordinating the Broward Politics blog with contributions from reporters throughout the county. Before moving to the Broward political beat, he covered politics and Palm Beach County government for the Sun-Sentinel, including touch-screen voting and the Supervisor of Elections Office. He's also covered municipal, county, state, and federal elections and made repeated reporting trips to Tallahassee for regular and special sessions of the Florida Legislature. He joined the Sun-Sentinel in 2002 after covering state and local politics in Illinois. Like so many others in South Florida, he's originally from a New York suburb (Rockland County).

BRITTANY WALLMAN covers Broward County and news. A 1991 University of Florida graduate, Wallman started her journalism career at the Fort Myers News Press. She and her husband Bob Norman have two young children -- Creed and Lily. Wallman was born in Iowa and spent half her childhood there, the remainder in Oklahoma. She has covered local government and elections her entire reporting career -- including covering the infamous 2000 recount here in the presidential election. (She has a Mason jar with a "hanging chad'' inside to prove it.)

LARRY BARSZEWSKI covers Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors. In the past, he has reported on Palm Beach County government and schools, aging and social issues, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach and state legislative sessions. He wrote for the Denver Post, Bradenton Herald and Miami Herald before joining the Sun Sentinel in 1988. A Massachusetts native, he lives in Boca Raton with his wife, Maggie, and teenage daughters Jessica and Jackie.